Bobm, the DNIe in the SM for instance could be improved, the way it is set and programmed by renaming or grouping the settings. If you think of it the Sammy is mostly software than hardware. There's nothing wrong with the hardware, it is the software that controls the hardware. Issues like things not sticking in the SM, needing to buy a remote in order to switch inputs so the picture doesn't change, and all of the other posts here regarding the software, not hardware related like the RBE, pin cushioning ) (, vertical stripe, SSE and so on.

You might be right since there is no FW available to install right now, but the fact that they even have that option should tell you something. Computer components have FW updates but toasters don't. I don't see them updating any hardware with new models on the way and if they did it would probably have the newer FW like you said.

All of this means and is not a guess or speculation, is that they considered it possible to update the FW on these sets, without needing new hardware that could improve the software that drives the set. It doesn't mean they will or that the FW would fix everything but its possible.

There are a number of problems that Samsung could fix via firmware (if there was a way to update it, and I believe that there is a method through the service port). These include the dynamic range problem, missing discrete IR codes (TV for example), restoring the DNIe on/off functionality that was probably just deleted late in development to get the units out the door (evidence, the DNIe button on the remote). Plus firmware is key to the performance of these units ... I'm sure that processing algorithms are better tuned now than they were six months ago.


I'll give you the dynamic range problem. But DNIe is something they don't want you going near. There are different versions of firmware on the streets, depending on your build date, and you don't see the simple on/off for that feature being changed. I don't call that an oversight.

I don't write algorithms or firmware. I'm curious what background and information folks are going on for those conclusions. Or is it as I stated earlier...speculation?

I think what this really comes down to is the desire of hobbyist to have the control and sometime tweak stuff just for the sake of tweaking. Only through trial and error do you make improvements with some of those adjustments. Sometimes you actually go backward. But take away the ability to tweak those buttons and here's what you get.

Long ways from the contrast and tint days. huh? :)

The only speculation is if they will make a FW update available for tech.s and calibrators to install, and what the FW will include. The sets are built to take an update without having to replace parts and there is a long list of things they could include in the FW so they have a reason to it and like you said they're already doing it in newer sets so I don't know where the issue is? People here would like a FW update that addresses bigger issues I guess that affect most of us.

Firmware that will benefit most of us that need the upgrade. Firmware that will allow the user to turn on/off the DNIe setting. Many other settings too. It is possible to have this upgrade installed no matter what model Samsung you have. Updating the firmware can be very handy solving the larger problems that people are having on this forum.

Hey everyone,

Anybody ever see this one? The picture on any channel on my HDMI1 input is jittery. That means it is slightly shaking vertically. Not alot, but enough to notice and be really annoying. I have Time Warner SA8300HD DVR attached, and has been fine for last 4 months. The issue just started and is only on this input. HDMI 2 input from Oppo is fine, Cable input is fine, Component input is fine.

I shutdown SA8300, removed and reinstalled HDMI cable, no change. I am trying to figure out what the likelyhood is of the Sammy being the cause is on only 1 input, vs. the DVR on the HDMI input since the cable out of it is fine. Anybody have any ideas on this? Appreciate any feedback.

Thanks!

Ok Folks, I really need some advice. Tweeters agreed to give me credit for my 6178w if I agreed to pay full price for a 6768w. I guess it was "deal" considering I had it for 5 months! Now my dilemna, I received the 6768 about three weeks ago and I liked the TV a lot. However, since we sit around 12 feet from the "tube", we noticed we could see more artifacts, pixels, etc. due to the larger size. Moving back a few feet made the picture look as good as the 6178. The tweeter guy says if we want he will swap the 67 for the 61 but he recommends the 67 from that distance (can't buy too big a DLP he says). In the mean time I'm viewing a 62 inch mitzy because the 6768 crapped out.....confused yet?....but that size seems perfect. We wanted the 68 series mainly to get rid of the glarey bezel on the 78. SO>>>do I get the 67 or 61?

Ok Folks, I really need some advice. Tweeters agreed to give me credit for my 6178w if I agreed to pay full price for a 6768w. I guess it was "deal" considering I had it for 5 months! Now my dilemna, I received the 6768 about three weeks ago and I liked the TV a lot. However, since we sit around 12 feet from the "tube", we noticed we could see more artifacts, pixels, etc. due to the larger size. Moving back a few feet made the picture look as good as the 6178. The tweeter guy says if we want he will swap the 67 for the 61 but he recommends the 67 from that distance (can't buy too big a DLP he says). In the mean time I'm viewing a 62 inch mitzy because the 6768 crapped out.....confused yet?....but that size seems perfect. We wanted the 68 series mainly to get rid of the glarey bezel on the 78. SO>>>do I get the 67 or 61?

We sit nearly 11' from our 6768W. Even 6' would be fine for DTV (SD or HD), and 15' wouldn't be enough for NTSC. So... it depends upon what you watch. We overlook the NTSC artifacts... and anticipate more SD/HD going forward.

By the way, we cannot see the DLP "pixels", or more accurately, DLP dithering, unless we're only 24" away.

Hookster, this is a personal preference. The best thing to do is to watch the best content you can find like on INHD or something and look closely. If the best show on the best channel doesn't look great then everything else will look that much worse. You need something to compare to. More and more shows are HD now so you have to figure any issues with SD content is temporary in the long run. Part of the problem is the broadcast too. I use CNN as a SD guide and I think it looks great. You have to figure the 50" is clearer than the ones you have since they are projected. Its a tough decision. The Tweeter guy here told my friend to get the size down for the better picture. I went bigger to the 5678 and love it. He now wishes he got it since we are so close together to compare. He also didn't want to spend the extra money though.

GeoMetro, turn off the Sammy and the DVR and put the DVR in HDMI2 with the same cable. I think that will determine where the issue is as long as it returns when you put it back to HDMI1. You could also do it to the DVD but I would start with the DVR. Let us know. I'm having an issue with the CC line now that the LE was replaced. I haven't had time to check but its either the DVR or the Sammy.

Hookster, you might also want to consider the size or space in the room afa the stand its on, the walls, etc, and that it takes a higher watt bulb I think, if that matters? You might go to Tweeter or Worst Buy and see what they have demod and compare them again. I like the idea that the 5678 is clearer than the larger ones and bigger than the 5078.

GeoMetro, turn off the Sammy and the DVR and put the DVR in HDMI2 with the same cable. I think that will determine where the issue is as long as it returns when you put it back to HDMI1. You could also do it to the DVD but I would start with the DVR. Let us know. I'm having an issue with the CC line now that the LE was replaced. I haven't had time to check but its either the DVR or the Sammy.
Thanks for the advice BCVP. I did plug the cable into HDMI2, and problem was still there. Then, back to HDMI1, still there. Then, I remembered an issue I had with a web server once, where it wouldn't boot properly until I pulled the power cord out. So, I pulled power cord on Sammy, plugged back in, and started up. Much to my surprise, the jittering was gone!! So, I guess the moral of the story is when you have these types of issues, make sure to unplug *all* cables on both ends.

I am glad that problem is out of the way. Now onto this afternoon when my light engine gets replaced :rolleyes:

Thanks again!

The only speculation is if they will make a FW update available for tech.s and calibrators to install, and what the FW will include. The sets are built to take an update without having to replace parts and there is a long list of things they could include in the FW so they have a reason to it and like you said they're already doing it in newer sets so I don't know where the issue is? People here would like a FW update that addresses bigger issues I guess that affect most of us.

Again, what issues are you having beyond the dynamic range problem that this firmware is supposed to give you? What "long list of things" was mentioned elsewhere in this thread? Yes, there are incremental firmware changes in a given model year. There are also incremental changes in hardware within a given model year, usually in response to field failures feedback. Sometimes they go hand in hand. That doesn't mean version 1.2 firmware necessarily works on your version 1.1 hardware set. That's the flaw in the logic. Maybe you're comparing to BIOS of a PC motherboard? These sets are a bit more complicated than that.

When has any TV manufacturer made firmware available to calibraters? The guy who calibrated my set even consults for Samsung and he doesn't have that kind of access.

This thread is full of issues that could be addressed, I had and others recently posted them, for you. I think you are assuming the FW is made for a specific component that gets replaced like on the LE and I think that is just as flawed. lol. FW is FW no matter what the component is, like a DVD burner, or components on the mobo, besides the BIOS itself. Samsung won't issue the FW to the public, that has been discussed before. Therefore the only other source would be from a tech, which would only happen if you needed service or I thought a calibrator who had "connections," I don't know of any other way, that's all. Bottom line is the FW updates are being done and I think it is unlikely to be only related to a specific part that has been changed.

Why don't you turn this around and explain how a FW update would be needed for what part, that isn't needed in the older sets? This back and forth is annoying and not really helpful to anyone, so any new information would be great.

Let me make it simple for you.....I've seen repeated failures of light engines and DMD boards. That seems to be a problematic module/component. I'm sure Samsung has taken note. The question beccomes did they modify the module design mid-year to address this issue? If they did, what specific hardware changes were made? When hardware is changed, sometimes it requires a corresponding firmware change. Sometimes it doesn't. Perhaps you just don't understand the nature of firmware?

My set was built in July '05. The revisions of the internal PCBs may or may not be the same as a set built in April '05. I certainly have newer firmware than the April set. The question is why? You insist it's "because it's better" and I'm simply asking you on what you base that statement.

Doesn't seem that difficult a question to me.

Dynamic range issue noted. DNIe, for those that want to, can already be defeated. What else do you want and why are you having such a difficult time putting it into words?

Are you sure it isn't what I suggested earlier in that you just want to tweak it for the sake of tweaking it? There's no crime in that, but you have to be honest with yourself to comprehend it.

Again, what issues are you having beyond the dynamic range problem that this firmware is supposed to give you?
Personally, I would like a firmware update to fix the overscan setting in the SM which is preventing 1:1 pixel mapping.
When has any TV manufacturer made firmware available to calibraters? The guy who calibrated my set even consults for Samsung and he doesn't have that kind of access.
Check the HP 1080P DLP Owner's thread. HP has sent out firmware updates to owners.

Personally, I would like a firmware update to fix the overscan setting in the SM which is preventing 1:1 pixel mapping.

Check the HP 1080P DLP Owner's thread. HP has sent out firmware updates to owners.

Do you have that link? Can't seem to find it. Thanks.

We can't even get an answer about the FW and you want to know if they modified the LE, which may or may not need a FW update? lol. Isn't the DMD part of the LE? I think you are saying that the FW is only used for the LE? I don't think that's right. There does seem to be a QC issue, but that doesn't mean they changed the design or the FW, just that they got parts from a better source, if they did.

The issue isn't why you have newer FW than an older set, it's since they are updating the FW, why can't they address these issues people have here? I don't know if anyone will get a straight answer as to what was included in the current FW updates, we are concerned about future ones. I don't remember saying "its better," but I would say that since they are updating it, that there is hope they might fix some of these issues. A FW update could address any issue. I don't know what the current FW updates did, if anything? I can't think of anything right now that people are concerned about but anything that isn't limited to the hardware limits themselves could be updated. I'm not holding my breath but you seem to think its not possible, more than its not likely and that's the issue I had.

Off the top of my head there was a major FW update for most computer DVD burners soon after they were shipping. When the speed of the DVDs increased you needed to install the FW or your burner would break. I hate to think how many people didn't know about it. They did put warnings in the DVD packages but there was a point when not everyone was aware of the FW they needed.

I guess I was wondering if any of the plastic around the screen needs to be covered with the Velux? To me it seems there is a good amount of plastic that makes up the frame around the screen? I have the 5678. There seems to be about an inch of plastic along the top and sides of the screen and at least that much if not more on the bottom? Also, I don't think anyone said how much Velux they used for the different size sets? I put in a "bid" to buy extra Velux people might have left over.

I plan on installing the velux first week of march.I have 10' of this material,way to much.It came in 3 or 10 foot and I thought 3 was to lil.So if your interested I will sell you the remainder of what I have.I plan on putting a firm base (foamboard)on the bottom.From looking at the pics I wouldnt feel good just laying it on the grid bottom Ive seen.And I have the 88 which have speakers on each side.So I will be seeing if the speakers are cased in or will I have to cover the back of those also.Am excited to do this I love arts and crafts lol.Want to get it done so I can get it calibrated.

I think you are saying that the FW is only used for the LE? I don't think that's right.

No, that's not what I said. FW goes hand-in-hand with any electronic processing in the cabinet.

I could cite several examples of how later release firmware is actually a bad thing and a step backwards, but the mindset here seems to be later firmware revs are automatically better, so the point would be wasted.

I wish you well in your quest. Post up if you manage to find a copy to report how it improves your set.

Like I said I'm not holding my breath, although some here wish I would. lol. There are more important things to discus like HD-DVD, which will probably be out before the FW anyway.

_Matt_, sounds great. Report back on the install and PM me about the Velux you want to sell. Thanks.

FYI all:

After 4 months of bliss with my HLR6168W, I offically have a repair "Transaction Number" with Samsung and am awaiting service.

The set worked flawless until now. Then out of the blue yesterday I have a vertical shadow on the left side against the edge, from mid-screen to the bottom. A pointy shadow shaped like a sharde of glass. Pointed at the top and about 1.5" wide at the bottom. Funny, it's not there when the set comes on, but after 5 minutes it appears and stays.

Hopefully my service experience and outcome will be acceptable. I live in the greater Los Angeles area so I expect no trouble finding a decent service agent.

Wish me luck :confused:

Had my set calibrated by 2 ISF technicians. Settings Posted. Details here. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=649153

FYI all:

After 4 months of bliss with my HLR6168W, I offically have a repair "Transaction Number" with Samsung and am awaiting service.

The set worked flawless until now. Then out of the blue yesterday I have a vertical shadow on the left side against the edge, from mid-screen to the bottom. A pointy shadow shaped like a sharde of glass. Pointed at the top and about 1.5" wide at the bottom. Funny, it's not there when the set comes on, but after 5 minutes it appears and stays.

Hopefully my service experience and outcome will be acceptable. I live in the greater Los Angeles area so I expect no trouble finding a decent service agent.

Wish me luck :confused:

If you have any problems or need/want your TV calibrated and all Veluxed out, then Call David Abrams. He is a calibration specialist for these Samsung TV's. He works out of the LA area. If you are interested then I can give you his number.

If you have any problems or need/want your TV calibrated and all Veluxed out, then Call David Abrams. He is a calibration specialist for these Samsung TV's. He works out of the LA area. If you are interested then I can give you his number.

Thanks for the reminder :) I've already saved their web address and intend to have them come see me once I get the new HD cable service installed. Now I have to wait to get the set fixed too! :(

been a while since I've been in this thread.

Does anyone have the descrete codes for the functions PipSwap and PipInput?

My harmony 880 is fully configured for everything except this. With these codes it will be so easy to have two inputs and switch which is the primary and the audio, then one button to maximize it. I already have all the other buttons mapped for one "super activity" but need these two functions.

Thanks...

Strummer, you need the LE replaced, period. Don't let them pick up the set, remove the screen or do anything but replace the LE. Otherwise they are wasting your time and giving you the runaround. You should get great service in LA, I did in Boston. It seems the people outside a metro area have been stuck. I don't think I've heard of any issues with techs in metro areas. This site is great.

Again, what issues are you having beyond the dynamic range problem that this firmware is supposed to give you? What "long list of things" was mentioned elsewhere in this thread? Yes, there are incremental firmware changes in a given model year. There are also incremental changes in hardware within a given model year, usually in response to field failures feedback. Sometimes they go hand in hand. That doesn't mean version 1.2 firmware necessarily works on your version 1.1 hardware set. That's the flaw in the logic. Maybe you're comparing to BIOS of a PC motherboard? These sets are a bit more complicated than that.

When has any TV manufacturer made firmware available to calibraters? The guy who calibrated my set even consults for Samsung and he doesn't have that kind of access.


As a consumer, when I had a Mitsubishi WD-52725 DLP, there were software issues with the DLP locking up. Mitsubishi mailed out a Compact Flash with Instructions on how to load the firmware update. Once I flashed the firmware, they had a Pre-Paid Envelope to mail the Compact Flash back to them. I don't know why Samsung couldn't do a similar thing by mailing out a USB Thumb Drive Drive - the Service port on the back of the Samsung 1080p's appears to be a USB port.

They could do something similar but they obviously won't.

My HLR6768 had the exact same problem that GeoMetro reported back in this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7164070&&#post7164070). Samsung's technician came to my house today and fixed it. The guy I had (Andy, I think) was very thorough and professional.

He started by taking several pictures of the problem area for documentation purposes. I mentioned that others on this forum had reported having their Light Engine replaced for this issue. He scoffed at that saying that's what the amateur techs do because its easy. He then proceeded to disassemble the light engine right there in my living room. He carefully looked over each part but nothing seemed obviously wrong. After carefully reassembling it, he placed it back in the TV and the problem was gone. Our best guess was that something had worked itself loose and out of alignment (perhaps due to thermal cycling) and all that was needed was some screw tightening. Hopefully it is fixed for good now.

While he was there he also took time to adjust some small geometry issues (tilt and centering) that I had noticed when viewing HDNet's test pattern (which I have recorded on my HD DVR) but never thought were worth calling in service for. Centering was easy since he could do it with through the service menu. The tilt took some time because he had to make physical adjustments in the back of the TV and then come back around to the front to measure the changes with his ruler. Before he left he also used cleaning solution and a cloth to polish off the screen (it was overdue)!

While I'd obviously prefer that the problem never happened, a great service experience like this makes it very easy to forgive Samsung.

- Anthony (Wayne, NJ)

Sounds like he is better at calibrating than repairing? Amateur techs repair or replace parts, not adjust tilt. I hope not but it wouldn't surprise me that the problem returns. He didn't know the cause or the source of the problem is what you're saying. I would've had him replace the LE since he isn't as qualified as he thinks. Its great that he fixed the alignment. The alignment is in the LE, so a new LE would have different or maybe better alignment. What cleaning solution did he use? You're only supposed to use a damp micro fiber cloth afaik? Again, I hope things are great but it doesn't sound good.

Sounds like he is better at calibrating than repairing? Amateur techs repair or replace parts, not adjust tilt. I hope not but it wouldn't surprise me that the problem returns. He didn't know the cause or the source of the problem is what you're saying. I would've had him replace the LE since he isn't as qualified as he thinks. Its great that he fixed the alignment. The alignment is in the LE, so a new LE would have different or maybe better alignment. What cleaning solution did he use? You're only supposed to use a damp micro fiber cloth afaik? Again, I hope things are great but it doesn't sound good.


If it hasn't occurred to you, where do you think replacement LEs come from? In all likelihood, I'd bet that they're refurbs and hopefully they got it right.

I'd much rather keep my original if the specific problem is corrected and not run the risk of having new problems come up that the techs that refurb these LEs didn't fix.

I would rather have this tech who understands how things work and how to repair them than someone who only knows to swap parts.

I'm sure they're refurb.s too and I hope they were tested more than the original defective ones they replaced. I can only go by what people here have reported. Most people here except for a few have had the LE replaced. I think I might be one of the few people that had the same or new problems after their LE was replaced. I haven't determined if it is the new LE or the STB?

I would have liked to have seen my tech. replace the defective part so I can keep the LE and learn what is getting replaced so I could report it here. If you have your set calibrated then you really don't want them replacing the LE. There are so many parts on the LE that it doesn't pay for them to replace components, just like a car. Its easier and faster to replace the whole thing.

I agree, my tech. was very knowledgeable. I was impressed and surprised. I was just pointing out that the tech. who serviced Anthony's set took the LE apart, couldn't find anything wrong and just tightened a screw and put it back. I'm sure Samsung would love to do that to all these sets rather than replace LEs. He might have spent more time taking it apart rather than just replacing it? I would prefer a new part over tightening a screw. I hope his set is working great.

In reassembling the LE he tighted a bunch of screws not just one. Looking at the picture GeoMetro posted (which is exactly how my set looked), it certainly seems plausible to me that the problem was a physical one (as opposed to a bad chip) that could be corrected by careful reassembly. I do wish I had a more definitive answer as to what exactly was loose/misaligned/etc but I also understand that sometimes things like this prefer to remain a mystery.

He used a damp MF cloth as you described so he was quite gentle on the screen. I'll be back to let you all know if the problem reappears.

- Anthony

It's a strange issue since the picture isn't blocked, which is a good reason for removing the screen. The issue happens on all inputs. At least we know it has to do with the LE somewhere. I'd love to figure out the source and cause, it is a mystery. I'm glad your set is working.

For a moment I thought I was banned, lol. The site was down a few hours.

So my previously gorgeous 7mo old 6168 now has various problems. Last month because my component inputs were not working, had a Sammy sent tech dispatched who told my wife who was home for the service call, that the reason my component inputs weren’t working was I was also using hdmi cables and that they were interfering with the component signals!. Also, a few days before he arrived I started to have intermittent PQ problems as stated below but they weren’t so sever as now, and the tech told us that since all the signals are routed through the board this might be the reason behind all of the problems. He told my wife that he changed the board although we don’t know exactly what he did as she wasn’t in the room watching.
First, I didn’t/dont believe the answer about the HDMI inputs because the 6168 is built with 2 hdmi inputs and there is no comment in the manual that they shouldnt be used.
More important though now the 6168 is unwatchable and I don’t want to call sammy for another service call and not have my problems fixed a second time.
So…..
3 weeks later my problems have escalated and they happen whether or not I have any HDMI connections or not.
- see jpg's. regardless of input picture freezes, get blocks of color, get horizontal lines across screen.
- when the tv is working (which right now is not much) my picture is sometimes improperly sized. So if connected to the cable box with hdmi the picture is too big so that I am getting chop off at the top and bottom (can tell because of text/logo's falling off screen.
- so any opinions about the comment about problems with using the hdmi inputs - which would honestly be completely ridiculous because the autosizing, etc advantages of using hdmi is one of the reasons I bought this set in the first place.

The issues you have now are not related to the HDMI or the board. You need the LE replaced. You didn't describe in detail what problems you had with the component so its hard to know what the source of the problem was? You know and everyone here knows that it had nothing to do with the HDMI, that was bull from someone who isn't qualified. Does your wife have an idea of how long he was there or what parts or things did he bring with him? The part would probably be in a box like the LE. Did he go back to the truck to get it?

Did you first have these problems and thought it was the component or was there something else wrong? I'm guessing someone changed the picture size settings trying to fix the picture. I would check that, but either way you need a new LE. It pulls out and is easy to swap. You might see if you can get either another tech. or a different company to fix it.

As reported here many many times, the number of light engine failures is alarming. The quality of Samsung repairs are also suspect. What's going on with Samsung? Are they even interested in this issue? Can we get a statement from Samsung regarding these issues? I doubt it.

My 6768 has a fantastic picture, but it also has a problem. It takes over 20 minutes for it to come on. It starts with a normal picture, then the picture freezes. Later, I get half a frozen picture then another etc. It eventually flickers a bit then the picture comes on and everything is normal. I suspect its the LE, but it always comes on eventually, so I am reluctant to have a questionable service man attempt to repair it. I'll wait until it fails for good before that. So if anyone here is having that problem, be patient and give it 20 min or so and see if it finally works.

So all this begs the question about the future of a replacement LE. How long will it last? An out of warranty replacement is going to be costly!

does calibration have to be redone after an LE change?

does calibration have to be redone after an LE change?

Yes.

I don't agree about being stuck with a broken set, especially at these prices. Its under warranty, they go to your house and in thirty minutes or less, like pizza, you have a new set. If it breaks again guess what, they'll be back and do it again. I've never heard of someone getting three LEs. Yes I'm sure they're refurb.s but they should for the most part be tested and I think most except a few have not had an issue with the replacement. I would look at the numbers though. I don't think it is the same or more than other repairs like a computer, car, vacuum. At least they were smart enough to make it easy to swap and not need special skills or time to diagnose or repair, they simply replace. I'm thrilled I got a new LE in one day and I would call them again if I need to.

Wow, I haven't read here in week or so and it seems like quite a few people are having problems with thier sets. I think Samsung has a QC issue that needs to be addressed.

As far as all the firmware questions, it can be upgraded it shows it in my service manual and it looks like a USB key or thumbdrive. If they release a new FW a tech could easily upgrade it.

If anyone is interested about the hashmark issue it is usually noticeable when the screen is black or at its darkest. You will see it mostly across the top of the entire screen. You can see it across the bottom if you stand right in front of the screen and look down.

It's light reflections of the solder traces around the 1080P DMD chip. You can see from the pictures that all the other DMD chips have a black plastic shroud around the DMD, and the 1080P doesn't. Somehow the light reflections are getting into the light path and onto the screen. Samsung knows about it and has released a TSB for it. They (Samsung) say they are correcting it with a lense replacement. I don't know all the technical details but my set is supposed to be fixed soon. I do not know if TI forgot to put this shroud on the DMD chip during the manufaturing process or they did it intentionaly becasue it isn't required. Somebody with an engineering background might tells us what they think about this.

I'm guessing many people have this problem but don't realize it yet.

Wow, that is very interesting. I don't see how getting a new lens will fix that unless the lens includes the chip? I was thinking the plastic around the lens might help block it but it is in the middle of the picture, not the edge. Crazy how something so simple can be a big deal. I'm sure this has cost Samsung a lot more than the plastic part. lol.

They could do something similar but they obviously won't.

With all the issues reported with the Samsung 1080p DLP's, what has been Samsung's Tech Support Response to the various issues? Don't they have to address these issues some how?

:mad: I've got a similar problem as RichNY. My brand new Samsung HL-R5688w arrived on 12/30/05. Just 52 days later, the TV is completely unusable. In a four day span the screen went from periodic flickering to horizontal colored lines all over the screen half the time, to four separate solid colored squares most of the time to no picture at all. This problem occurs regardless of the video source.

An Authorized Service Tech from Home Service Network is scheduled to come out tomorrow--10 days after I reported the problem to Samsung. I'll let you know what happens.

In the meantime, does anyone have any idea what the problem is? This just shouldn't happen to a brand new TV. Attached are some pics of the screen.

When I try to play my Gamecube in GAME mode, it stretches the picture out to 16:9.
Is there a way to make it stay 4:3 in GAME mode?

Thanks.

The issues you have now are not related to the HDMI or the board. You need the LE replaced. You didn't describe in detail what problems you had with the component so its hard to know what the source of the problem was? You know and everyone here knows that it had nothing to do with the HDMI, that was bull from someone who isn't qualified. Does your wife have an idea of how long he was there or what parts or things did he bring with him? The part would probably be in a box like the LE. Did he go back to the truck to get it?

Did you first have these problems and thought it was the component or was there something else wrong? I'm guessing someone changed the picture size settings trying to fix the picture. I would check that, but either way you need a new LE. It pulls out and is easy to swap. You might see if you can get either another tech. or a different company to fix it.

As usual, AV Forum has top notch posters... thanks guys.
Also as far as the picture sizing issue, this is not a user configuration issue as all of the user settings per picture size are correct - something is actually not working here.
Yes thanks about the HDMI comment - I knew that his comment was baloney but wanted to see a concurrance on this.
As far as the original problem; anything plugged into the component inputs would be a "poor or no signal" or whatever the sets states when it cant see the input signal.
Hard to know what he did/nt bring in from the truck. But I do know that my wife believed him when he sold us a component video cable because "hdmi doesnt work".... As a general rule never a good idea to have a service call when you need to be on a plane and cant even talk to the technician via phone... but we had a super bowl party scheduled 2 days later so had to have this service call or no party....
Once again this is an awesome set except when it has problems but I am feeling buyers remorse now hearing about the new models coming out....

Now I'm ready to call Samsung support and make sure that this get fixed. I also agree that it seems like there is a QC problem here with the LE's.

Sounds like he did replace it. The party must go on, at least that's fixed. I think he took advantage of your wife by selling her a cable and that pisses me off though and I think is a good reason not to use the same tech.

[That would be interesting to see if that picture size component is part of the LE or not? I would think it is part of the scaling, where ever that is since the picture is already displayed? Keep us posted.]

Can the firewire (IEEE 1394) port of the Samsung HLDXX68 series be used to record any displayed video stream or only the built-in TV tuner's stream?

thanks

Can the firewire (IEEE 1394) port of the Samsung HLDXX68 series be used to record any displayed video stream or only the built-in TV tuner's stream?

On HL-RXX68s (my HL-R6768W specifically), can this port be used to record an unencrypted HD program (major, non-premium, networks) to a Windows XP box and then play it back again? Does the AVS Forum sticky:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695

apply to this scenario?

When I try to play my Gamecube in GAME mode, it stretches the picture out to 16:9.
Is there a way to make it stay 4:3 in GAME mode?

Thanks.

Better yet see if you have an early version game cube that has the high def cable option. The early units had Componet Out using an optional cable but it was discontinued as a cost reduction effort. I tracked down a set of cables ($40) from ebay and the picture is great!

Wow! My component Gamecube cables are worth $40?

On HL-RXX68s (my HL-R6768W specifically), can this port be used to record an unencrypted HD program (major, non-premium, networks) to a Windows XP box and then play it back again? Does the AVS Forum sticky:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695 apply to this scenario?
No. The Samsung (also using HL-R6768W) does not recognize the PC on the 1394 network. I have it networked with my Comcast STB and PC. D-Net can see that there is a device there, but it does not understand what it is and will not talk to it ("Unknown Device").

From the other perspective, the PC doesn't recognize the Samsung. There could be complications that both the PC and Samsung are network controllers. If you want to record from your STB, everything works just fine. I'm using the software in that thread plus VideoLan to capture the STB transport stream in real-time (http://videolan.org). I just posted to a thread discussing the (lack of) 1394 support on Comcast STBs http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=639349 - I give some examples of what the Samsung can do.

Can the firewire (IEEE 1394) port of the Samsung HLDXX68 series be used to record any displayed video stream or only the built-in TV tuner's stream? thanks
Page 121 of the owner's manual gives out the details of what can / can not be recorded (there's also a table that I didn't copy):

12) Copy Protection
- You can record a Copy-Free, or Copy-One-Generation screen.
- Although you cannot record a Copy-No-More, or Copy-Never screen, you can view it through another device.
- If you change the channel to a ‘copy never’ channel while recording a ‘copy free’ channel, the recording is automatically stopped in some devices. Even if the program was recorded, you will not be able to view the recorded ‘copy never’ channel. At this time, therefore, the user has to manually stop the recording.

It recognizes the copy protecion from my STB. I think that you can make a single recording (copy-one-generation) if you are using a recorder that's recognized by the Samsung (a PC is not- see my previous post). My post in http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=639349 may help clarify the manual.

My Samsung HL-R5668W has been working flawlessly since I bought it last August. Yesterday, I installed two (2) Sony DHG-HDD250 high-definition digital video recorders and connected the DVRs to the Samsung's HDMI inputs. The video quality is awesome, but I can't hear any audio through the Samsung's internal speakers. (I re-checked settings to make sure the Samsung's internal speakers weren't muted, so that's not the problem.)

Next, I tested the HDMI output from the Sony DVRs by plugging the HDMI cables into my Yamaha RX-V4600 receiver. The Yamaha played-back audio (Pro Logic and Dolby Digital) coming from the Sony DVRs, so it seems that HDMI audio output is OK from the Sony DVRs.

Has anyone else had a problem with HDMI audio inputs on their Samsung HDTVs? If so, what's the fix?

Page 121 of the owner's manual gives out the details of what can / can not be recorded (there's also a table that I didn't copy):

12) Copy Protection
- You can record a Copy-Free, or Copy-One-Generation screen.
- Although you cannot record a Copy-No-More, or Copy-Never screen, you can view it through another device.
- If you change the channel to a ‘copy never’ channel while recording a ‘copy free’ channel, the recording is automatically stopped in some devices. Even if the program was recorded, you will not be able to view the recorded ‘copy never’ channel. At this time, therefore, the user has to manually stop the recording.

It recognizes the copy protecion from my STB. I think that you can make a single recording (copy-one-generation) if you are using a recorder that's recognized by the Samsung (a PC is not- see my previous post).

I'm aware of DTCP copy protection restrictions. This is a more a hardware question. I'm viewing output from my satellite receiver interfaced to my 5668 via HDMI. I'm trying to get Vividlogic's DTVR to record the currently viewed video stream via a IEEE-1394 connection to my HTPC. D-NET recognizes my PC as a valid recordable device, but when I try to start recording (using the appropriate D-NET control) I get a notification in broken English that could be interpreted to mean that only the internal TV reciver of the 5668 is recordable. The video stream coming in from the HDMI has a "copy free" indication showing in the D-NET menu.

Better yet see if you have an early version game cube that has the high def cable option. The early units had Componet Out using an optional cable but it was discontinued as a cost reduction effort. I tracked down a set of cables ($40) from ebay and the picture is great!

Yes, I have the component cables.
But that's not the issue.
Do you run your gamecube in GAME mode?
If so, does it stretch the picture?
The game is 4:3, but I can only view it in 16:9 when in GAME mode.

Yes, I have the component cables.
But that's not the issue.
Do you run your gamecube in GAME mode?
If so, does it stretch the picture?
The game is 4:3, but I can only view it in 16:9 when in GAME mode.


Maybe it is game dependant, Madden NFL runs at 16:9 in Game mode with the Gamecube component cables into the component input on my HLR. I haven't been in the set up menus in a long time

My Samsung HL-R5668W has been working flawlessly since I bought it last August. Yesterday, I installed two (2) Sony DHG-HDD250 high-definition digital video recorders and connected the DVRs to the Samsung's HDMI inputs. The video quality is awesome, but I can't hear any audio through the Samsung's internal speakers. (I re-checked settings to make sure the Samsung's internal speakers weren't muted, so that's not the problem.)

Next, I tested the HDMI output from the Sony DVRs by plugging the HDMI cables into my Yamaha RX-V4600 receiver. The Yamaha played-back audio (Pro Logic and Dolby Digital) coming from the Sony DVRs, so it seems that HDMI audio output is OK from the Sony DVRs.

Has anyone else had a problem with HDMI audio inputs on their Samsung HDTVs? If so, what's the fix?

I have a SFA 8300HD DVR connected to my 6168 via HDMI. If the DVR is set to output Dolby Digital the DVR will not send the audio to the TV but it will send the Dolby Digital signal through its optical out. If I set the DVR to output PCM the stereo signal will pass through the HDMI connection to the TV.
Your DVRs are likely not sending the audio signal because the TV is telling the DVR (via HDMI) that it is only capable of stereo. Since most TVs are only capable of stereo, I would be surprised if your DVRs don’t have a setting that will allow this.

D-NET recognizes my PC as a valid recordable device...
That's interesting, as D-NET sees my PC as an "unknown Uncontrollable" device. Can you please tell me your PC driver configuration? I've tried both meistb (via AVS forum thread) and firestb (sage forum). What does device manager report? Running Win XP SP2. If I can get D-NET to recognize my PC, I'll try recording.

Well, I had the Velux installed and a full calibration done on my 5668W. Overall, the picture under most circumstances is top notch. I still am not happy with what I guess is called black crush effect, something I thought would shake out with Velux and calibration. Blacks still seem to have a washed out effect under certain extreme dark video. My calibrator was able to get greyscale down to the D6500 standard. Contrast ratio was coming in around 6200:1. Flesh tones really benefited from the calibration. Most HD video now looks top notch except in extreme dark video.

My one problem still exists tho. I was hoping to see what you guys thought about it. I really thought the Velux would fix this but it hasnt. When the screen is totally black you can basically see a 8-9 inch vertical brighter strip on the left side. Then the next 30 inches or so is a solid black. Then the rest of the screen is brighter just like the other strip on the left. Its very uniform and alomost perfectly vertical in its appearance. I figured it would be fine once the velux was installed, but it must be coming from somewhere else, or I am still missing something in the cabinet. Just wondering if this is something that could be fixed with a tech call or something inherently wrong with the TV.

That sucks. Did the calibrator notice it? What did he think was causing the issue?

I would seriously question that 6200:1 contrast ratio measurement. How was it measured? I could imaging getting 620:1 with a checkerboard. 6200:1 might blind you with typical DLP blacks.

If DNIe was not disabled then that could be what is messing up your blacks (not the nonuniformity issue, but the "washed out" issue). DNIe makes the black level dynamic, as if someone is turning up the brightness on dark scenes and turning it down on bright scenes. There is really nothing you can do other than set it to compromise that works for what kind of material you watch more often. If you watch lots of dark movies, leave it on the low side, if you watch lots of bright sports, leave it on the high side, but be prepared for washed out looking dark scenes.

Also, don't expect velux to make a totally black screen look darker (unless your room is really bright and you are reducing reflections of room light back through the screen). Blackening the cabinet interior should help keep the dark parts of a scene with some bright areas darker as it cuts down on the reflections of the bright parts of the picture, but if the scene itself is very dark or you are looking at "black", that is not likely to be improved. The nonuniformity you are seeing could be in the light engine (and may be typical, hard to say without seeing it) or even caused by velux partially obscuring something it shouldn't.

That sucks. Did the calibrator notice it? What did he think was causing the issue?


Yes, he definately noticed it. There wasnt much he could do for it tho. Its not excessively brighter, but bright enough to notice that the middle patch is darker than than other areas I mentioned. I had hoped it would go away with all the efforts I put in, but no luck, I might call service after I give a little longer. I hear there is an improved LE or DMD on the way according to posts, so maybe I will wait for that to get flushed out good before calling service.

I would seriously question that 6200:1 contrast ratio measurement. How was it measured? I could imaging getting 620:1 with a checkerboard. 6200:1 might blind you with typical DLP blacks.

If DNIe was not disabled then that could be what is messing up your blacks (not the nonuniformity issue, but the "washed out" issue). DNIe makes the black level obscuring something it shouldn't.

Yeh, he measured it two ways, and it varied a little because the metric was different for each test. I will send him an email to double check how it was measured and what metric was used.. It was ChadB that did the calibration and I was very pleased with his efforts. I though the specs for the TV have stated UP to 10,000:1 Contrast ratio. I didn't think the number he got was that crazy.

I got this from the brochure "Up to 10,000:1 contrast ratio with outstanding colors and deep black levels "

He also turned off DNIe for all inputs, so I guess I am stuck with the blacks as good as they will be. I was able to very slightly lower brightness in the "standard" mode and it helped a little.

FYI all:

After 4 months of bliss with my HLR6168W, I offically have a repair "Transaction Number" with Samsung and am awaiting service.

The set worked flawless until now. Then out of the blue yesterday I have a vertical shadow on the left side against the edge, from mid-screen to the bottom. A pointy shadow shaped like a sharde of glass. Pointed at the top and about 1.5" wide at the bottom. Funny, it's not there when the set comes on, but after 5 minutes it appears and stays.

Hopefully my service experience and outcome will be acceptable. I live in the greater Los Angeles area so I expect no trouble finding a decent service agent.

Wish me luck :confused:

Well I must say that I'm very pleased with the outcome. And yes, I already have an outcome! I called Samsung on Friday. Monday the local service tech called me back and set-up a service appointment for today (tuesday). And he just left leaving my HLR in fine working order. :)

He suspected that there may be something going on with the DMD board or perhaps the light tunnel. But pressed for time and two more service calls to make, he installed a whole new light engine. Problem solved.

Here is a picture of the problem before for anyone interested:

Samsung With Obvious Screen Shadow (http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/19794/size/big/cat/508)

It is common knowledge that the contrast ratio numbers in manufacturer brochures have little correlation to reality. Put up a checkerboard, measure the luminance of a white block, measure a black block. Divide. It won't be anywhere near 10000.

(By the way human vision can see a contrast ratio of about 800:1 per the ISF).

It is common knowledge that the contrast ratio numbers in manufacturer brochures have little correlation to reality. Put up a checkerboard, measure the luminance of a white block, measure a black block. Divide. It won't be anywhere near 10000.

(By the way human vision can see a contrast ratio of about 800:1 per the ISF).


Steve,

I am by no means an expert of any sort when it comes to this stuff. I was simply reporting what he told me. All I know is he used his eyeball thing that was attached to the screen to do the test. But, I will find out his exact approach. I was at my friend's house when he did his 4th gen DLP and I believe he came up with around 900:1. Again, I will report back my findings.

Jeff

It is common knowledge that the contrast ratio numbers in manufacturer brochures have little correlation to reality. Put up a checkerboard, measure the luminance of a white block, measure a black block. Divide. It won't be anywhere near 10000.

(By the way human vision can see a contrast ratio of about 800:1 per the ISF).
thats not true. They typical human eye has a dynamic range of 30,000:1. the human eye is incredibly sensitive. That about 90db of range vs 60db that you describe. Maybe the very elderly loss sensitivity to that point but I would even doubt that.
see digitalsecrets for details

Clearly there are lots of different ways of measuring contrast ratio (and perception of it). I've seen that the human eye can only do 100:1 instantaneously, of course if you take adaptation over time into account I've seen numbers over 1,000,000:1. I would assume that the ISF numbers relate to watching typical video/film content and take into account the rate the human eye adapts to changes, etc.

One thing that leads to inflation of the numbers on the Samsung DLP's is the dynamic iris. While the instantaneous contrast (measuring a checkerboard) may be well under 1000:1, if you measure full white with the iris wide open and compare that to full black with the iris closed down, you can get some pretty inflated numbers.

Since I doubt your calibrator disabled the dynamic iris, it was probably still in play and if he measured full on, full off, that may explain the high measured number.

Clearly there are lots of different ways of measuring contrast ratio (and perception of it). I've seen that the human eye can only do 100:1 instantaneously, of course if you take adaptation over time into account I've seen numbers over 1,000,000:1. I would assume that the ISF numbers relate to watching typical video/film content and take into account the rate the human eye adapts to changes, etc.

One thing that leads to inflation of the numbers on the Samsung DLP's is the dynamic iris. While the instantaneous contrast (measuring a checkerboard) may be well under 1000:1, if you measure full white with the iris wide open and compare that to full black with the iris closed down, you can get some pretty inflated numbers.

Since I doubt your calibrator disabled the dynamic iris, it was probably still in play and if he measured full on, full off, that may explain the high measured number.

Steve,

I always like to become more educated in this stuff. Do you agree as others I have seen on this site, that the higher contrast ratio a TV can produce the better overall the picture will be? I have seen some say contrast is one of the most important factors to good picture. Sorry to digress on this topic, I will post any other questions to the calibration board or PM if this goes further.

Thanks

vegasjay,
Can you take a picture of what you describe? Is it on a black screen or dark scenes?
Im telling you I can see the outline of the actual DMD chip on mine. It looks like an offset rectangle or something. If you have a camera with adjustable shutter time you should be able to capture it. I think I used like a 1 sec shutter time. Once you have an image it might not be that noticeable, but if you open it in photoshop and blow out the contrast you will see the differences in brightness easily.
I might be wrong but it sounds like what Im seeing. I see more on the left side on mine.
I tried to outline what I'm saying in this photo.

I've been looking around and this looks like a pretty decent article discussing many aspects of contrast ratio...

http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/contrast-ratio.html

Sure, a higher contrast ratio makes for a better picture under the best of conditions, but if it is achieved with a dynamic iris or the number is made up by the manufacturer it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I've measured lots of displays with claims over over 5000:1 and can't remember a checkerboard contrast ratio actually measuring over 1000:1.

What matters the most to me are these things...

In a dark room do the blacks in dark scene look black or is there still a washed out glow.
Do whites look bright enough or are they still a dim gray.
In a bright scene, does it hurt my eyes.
Does the black/white level stay consistent as the overall level of the scene changes.

Don't just go by numbers, go by what you see.

vegasjay,
Can you take a picture of what you describe? Is it on a black screen or dark scenes?
Im telling you I can see the outline of the actual DMD chip on mine. It looks like an offset rectangle or something. If you have a camera with adjustable shutter time you should be able to capture it. I think I used like a 1 sec shutter time. Once you have an image it might not be that noticeable, but if you open it in photoshop and blow out the contrast you will see the differences in brightness easily.
I might be wrong but it sounds like what Im seeing. I see more on the left side on mine.
I tried to outline what I'm saying in this photo.

Yes, that vertical stripe looks almost identical to mine. Its about 7-9 inches wide and looks exactly like what you are showing in that picture. I also have a bit brighter section on the right half of the screen too, but that left side vertical strip is really showing up in dark scenes now. I have been noticeing it more and more, since all my favorite shows seem to be always set in dark environments. I think you or someone wrote that they may be fixing this issue soon, but its too early to know if it will work?

I will attempt to use my camera if it can capture it.

I have what vegasjay is describing as well and I believe it is coming from within the light engine. Personally, I'd like to hear if anyone doesn't have it. Maybe we can Velux line the inside of the light engine. Just kidding.

I have what vegasjay is describing as well and I believe it is coming from within the light engine. Personally, I'd like to hear if anyone doesn't have it. Maybe we can Velux line the inside of the light engine. Just kidding.

My 5668w doesn't have a problem but then I have only had it for two months.

In terms of the length of this thread I think this is a new issue and few report having it. How long has it taken to notice? I think Johnnyzcar is the only one who unfortunately has it after a LE replacement. RBE takes about a month or so to notice for instance.

I have not had a LE replacement, I had a DMD and digital board replaced because the set completely died and the first repairshop failed to do a good job and I noticed lighter colored spots on dark scenes and then I noticed the hashmarks and strip on the left side.
Samsung says they have a fix for this by replacing a lens. I am supposed to get a new LE and lens and we will see if this is fixed, if not then Im asking for a refund.
I think many people have this problem but have yet to see it and or don't want to see it. If they can't make this right it's got class action written all over it. I thin TI screwed up and didn't put the palstic around the DMD mirror and Samsung went ahead with using the chip on the board so they could get the sets to market. If i'm right then they might have known about it all along and hoped we wouldn't see it.
I am speculating here but would be curious to know if everybody that had the 1080P sets had this same issue.

Well I must say that I'm very pleased with the outcome. And yes, I already have an outcome! I called Samsung on Friday. Monday the local service tech called me back and set-up a service appointment for today (tuesday). And he just left leaving my HLR in fine working order. :)

He suspected that there may be something going on with the DMD board or perhaps the light tunnel. But pressed for time and two more service calls to make, he installed a whole new light engine. Problem solved.

Here is a picture of the problem before for anyone interested:

Samsung With Obvious Screen Shadow (http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/19794/size/big/cat/508)

Sorry, the problem has not been solved, or it has been solved only temporarily. It appears that this vertical shadow along the left edge is rapidly becoming a very common problem with sets that are 4 to 6 months old. If so, it would seem logical to conclude that light engines for 2005 1080p models are good only for 4 to 6 months (probably depending on usage). Unless Samsung goes public on this issue, there are really no guarantees that replacement LEs have indeed been fixed. Therefore, they will need to be replaced again in 4 to 6 months.

There was one encouraging post on this topic where the problem disappeared after LE was removed, disassembled, and reassembled. Perhaps, the issue is related to loose parts inside LE. If so, it is incredible that Samsung hasn't figured this out and issued an advisory to all service centers to stop replacing LEs blindly.

Let us hope that vertical shadow along the left edge can be fixed by tightening screws in the LE. If not, all 2005 1080p Samsung sets should be recalled. I still haven't observed this problem with my 6168; however, I now expect fully to see it soon.

That's interesting, as D-NET sees my PC as an "unknown Uncontrollable" device. Can you please tell me your PC driver configuration? I've tried both meistb (via AVS forum thread) and firestb (sage forum). What does device manager report? Running Win XP SP2. If I can get D-NET to recognize my PC, I'll try recording.

The 1394 driver I'm using is supplied with Vividlogic's DTVR package. Prior to installaion of the Vividlogic driver, my PC (winXP pro SP2) recognized 3 AVC-class IEEE 1394 devices associated with the Samsung, one of which was explicitly enumerated as a tuner. Also prior to the Vividlogic install D-NET on my Samsung saw the PC as "uncontrollable". Vividlogic gives you the option of setting up the PC to appear as a DVHS or AVHDD to the TV.

Sdv5, I didn't understand your post? Have you had the problem or were you commenting on these sets in general? Strummer's set was fixed right? So far everyone with the vertical stripe issue has been fixed with a new LE. I wonder if they fixed the issue in the replacement LE? You would think so. It would be good to know the cause so we could check if the replaced LE has the correction or not?

Isn't the DMD reflection the hash mark issue or is this another one? Are we saying that as of today Samsung can or can not get the plastic part from TI that covers the DMD? Seems like a $.02 part worth getting.

I dont have the hash mark patterns, but I definitely have the bright vertical strip on the left side, which according to johnnyczar is caused by the chip shroud. So, you can put me down for a chip shroud issue.

I agree that some may not see it right away. Scenes have to be pretty dark or totally black, and I would think the room would have to be fairly dark you are watching in. For me, I watch TV in with most lights out, so all my favorite darker video shows are starting to annoy me. I guess its time to give my first service call.

johnnyczar,

When is your repair for this issue? I would love to hear if Sammy really has a fix.

What is the difference between the hash mark issue and the missing DMD cover?

I was told by my Samsung repair guy that there is an official TSB for the correction of this problem. The tech is going to call me when he has the new parts in hand. I told him that I didn't want the experimental parts and that I wanted the final version of what they wanted to implement. He says it is a lens replacement of some sort. I think the real fix would be the plastic around the DMD. If you look at my other pics of the other non 1080P DMD's they DO have the shroud. The plastic shroud looks like it's below the top metal cap that is above the DMD chip and I beleive that metal cap is assembled during the chip making process. Sasmung gets these DMD chips from TI and then installs them onto the DMD boards and if they had a huge shipment from TI WITHOUT the plastic shroud that means all or many of the 1080P DMD boards have that no shroud DMD chip on them. To fix the plastic shroud on the chip part it would need to be fixed at TI when they are making these chips so I don't know if that is possible. I'm hoping that this lens fix is the correct way to take care of this issue and NOT a way to hide the issue. Cohbraz said in my other thread that this is NOT a crop and magnify fix so that is good I guess.

These differences in light levels on dark scenes are definitely caused by the reflections off the area around the DMD chip that doesn’t have the black plastic. That plastic may even be ceramic or some material that can take high heat. I guess this is a non uniform black level so to say. To me it IS a problem and I would expect more from Samsung at the prices we paid for these TV’s. A member JDmoser I think was his name is the guy who suggested it was the plastic shroud missing on the DMD chips, and he linked directly to the dlp.com site I think.

DLP DMD chip from TI (http://www.dlp.com/dlp_technology/dlp_technology_products.asp?bhcp=1)

I was told by my Samsung repair guy that there is an official TSB for the correction of this problem. The tech is going to call me when he has the new parts in hand. I told him that I didn't want the experimental parts and that I wanted the final version of what they wanted to implement. He says it is a lens replacement of some sort. I think the real fix would be the plastic around the DMD. If you look at my other pics of the other non 1080P DMD's they DO have the shroud. The plastic shroud looks like it's below the top metal cap that is above the DMD chip and I beleive that metal cap is assembled during the chip making process. Sasmung gets these DMD chips from TI and then installs them onto the DMD boards and if they had a huge shipment from TI WITHOUT the plastic shroud that means all or many of the 1080P DMD boards have that no shroud DMD chip on them. To fix the plastic shroud on the chip part it would need to be fixed at TI when they are making these chips so I don't know if that is possible. I'm hoping that this lens fix is the correct way to take care of this issue and NOT a way to hide the issue. Cohbraz said in my other thread that this is NOT a crop and magnify fix so that is good I guess.

These differences in light levels on dark scenes are definitely caused by the reflections off the area around the DMD chip that doesn’t have the black plastic. That plastic may even be ceramic or some material that can take high heat. I guess this is a non uniform black level so to say. To me it IS a problem and I would expect more from Samsung at the prices we paid for these TV’s. A member JDmoser I think was his name is the guy who suggested it was the plastic shroud missing on the DMD chips, and he linked directly to the dlp.com site I think.

DLP DMD chip from TI (http://www.dlp.com/dlp_technology/dlp_technology_products.asp?bhcp=1)

Thanks johnnyczar for the info,

Please keep the group posted on your fix status. I will be calling very soon after I hear someone has had success. Hopefully, all your problems will finally be fixed with this last round of repairs and you can finally start enjoying your set fully.

VegasJay

So this is not the same as the hash mark issue? It sounds similar to me? It would be interesting to know if those who got new LEs had the DMD cover or not? If the cover is added over the DVD, which it looks like to me then I don't think it is part of the manufacturing of the chip, but something added over the DMD before it ships. I can't see anything but that cover fixing the issue? A lens has nothing to do with it. The only part to fix it is the cover itself, which is missing. All of the sets were "tested" and passed QC so a lens, light tunnel or whatever made by or assembled by Samsung would have passed inspection. A part of a component from a supplier, TI isn't tested by Samsung, only the finished product. I agree this could be a huge issue and like the vertical stripe, it is not getting addressed unless it is brought to their attention by the consumer. Someone should contact TI and get a straight answer.

Let us hope that vertical shadow along the left edge can be fixed by tightening screws in the LE. If not, all 2005 1080p Samsung sets should be recalled. I still haven't observed this problem with my 6168; however, I now expect fully to see it soon.[/QUOTE]


I too had the strip on the left side of my 6178...which I traded.

I just looked at the link above, after I made the post and there is no cover found on the TI site for the DMD chip. I thought the issue was that there was a cover but that it was missing from Samsung DLPs? Therefore it must have been tested that way by TI or they wouldn't be all of these manufacturers making the same sets. My guess now is not the lens but the space or gap above the DMD. I'm thinking that .05mm gap or whatever could be causing the issue, which is then sent through the tunnel and lens. I don't have a service manual but it would be interesting to see what is directly above the DMD and if it lists the spec. for the amount of space? This seems more likely or everyone selling the DLPs would go after TI. [The catch is the consumer is dealing with Samsung or the other manufacturers when the issue could be with TI? I guess people would need to know if other manufacturers have the same issue or is it only with Samsung. I don't have that info. I'm on the phone with Samsung now and I'm already getting the runaround.]

So this is not the same as the hash mark issue? It sounds similar to me? It would be interesting to know if those who got new LEs had the DMD cover or not? If the cover is added over the DVD, which it looks like to me then I don't think it is part of the manufacturing of the chip, but something added over the DMD before it ships. I can't see anything but that cover fixing the issue? A lens has nothing to do with it. The only part to fix it is the cover itself, which is missing. All of the sets were "tested" and passed QC so a lens, light tunnel or whatever made by or assembled by Samsung would have passed inspection. A part of a component from a supplier, TI isn't tested by Samsung, only the finished product. I agree this could be a huge issue and like the vertical stripe, it is not getting addressed unless it is brought to their attention by the consumer. Someone should contact TI and get a straight answer.


I dont think the cover is added later. If you like at that link johnnyczar posted it shows the pictures of all the chips they use from TI. If you notice, the 1080p chip is the only one without a cover. All the others have it.

I didnt see your message when I posted this, looks like you noticed the same thing I did now. Let us know what Sammy says.

I too have the three distinct areas of black on my screen. Left side a lighter shade, middle deep black, and right side same as left. My question for anyone is that I am having Greg Loewen come Saturday to calibrate my set and install the velux. Should I postpone the calibration or continue with it? I figure to call him ASAP and tell him of the possible problem to see what he says. Any suggestions?

I too have the three distinct areas of black on my screen. Left side a lighter shade, middle deep black, and right side same as left. My question for anyone is that I am having Greg Loewen come Saturday to calibrate my set and install the velux. Should I postpone the calibration or continue with it? I figure to call him ASAP and tell him of the possible problem to see what he says. Any suggestions?


What model do yo have, you just described the exact problem I have described already. That CANNOT be fixed with calibration. Mine was calibrated and its still there. And I had velux installed. If you read a few posts earlier, you will see that there is some ideas as to what is causing this, but not 100% sure on the answer yet, but it seems Sammy knows something about it.

I have the 6178 with a manufacture date of November 05. Tonight I am going to throw in a couple of darker movies to see if I can notice it then. I havent really noticed it during normal viewing but I dont want to waste money on calibration if a fix is in the works. I would rather wait and have it calibrated after the fix.

I have a pic from the service manual of the LE assy.

Good luck on the phone with Samsung, that CS is severely detatched from the corporate system. I only had luck with eamil from the corporate VP's.

I would be interested in hearing what TI has to say about this issue or if anyone knows soemone on the inside at TI. It would seem that all the other manufacturers would have similar issues with thier sets if all the chips were flawed.

I have the 6178 with a manufacture date of November 05. Tonight I am going to throw in a couple of darker movies to see if I can notice it then. I havent really noticed it during normal viewing but I dont want to waste money on calibration if a fix is in the works. I would rather wait and have it calibrated after the fix.

For awhile I only noticed it when the screen was totally dark, but lately I have watched so much dark video(24, Lost, Smallville), that I am beginning to see the lighter left stripe during actual video playback. I am sure I am looking for it more now(and my calibration may make it more noticeable) that I know its there, but I notice it, so now I want it fixed.

I have a 5668w, so this is looking more like a chip design flaw in terms of either no shroud, or spacing of the cover or something along those lines.

VegasJay

Here's one additional question that I have. Does installing the velux default the warranty?

I have the 6178 with a manufacture date of November 05. Tonight I am going to throw in a couple of darker movies to see if I can notice it then. I havent really noticed it during normal viewing but I dont want to waste money on calibration if a fix is in the works. I would rather wait and have it calibrated after the fix.

Dinger,

I'm waiting for the fix to be implemented before I have the TV calibrated. If they change the LE, then you'll have to recalibrate.

I think everybody has these issues and some don't notice it yet.
I think it's just a matter of time before people start to notice the problem.

When the resellers start to notice it is when the flames will rise and then not reccomend Samsung 1080P TVs to customers. I know if I were a reseller I could not recommend these sets in fear of the return/exchange problems from unhappy customers. I don't know who is to blame on the QC issues but somebody should be held responsible.

I think everybody has these issues and some don't notice it yet.
I think it's just a matter of time before people start to notice the problem.

When the resellers start to notice it is when the flames will rise and then not reccomend Samsung 1080P TVs to customers. I know if I were a reseller I could not recommend these sets in fear of the return/exchange problems from unhappy customers. I don't know who is to blame on the QC issues but somebody should be held responsible.
I have it on my 6178W also. It can only be noticed when I turn my STB off and leave the TV on in a pitch black room. I dont notice it at all when watching TV or movies though. Even in very dark movies it cannot be seen.

Well I just got off the phone. My rep. put me on hold twice and said "there were no defects for any of the DLPs". I explained how I knew that was not true and did not appreciate it. He put me on hold to give me a number to call. When he returned he said he had no number since there were no defects. I then explained how I knew he was stuck in the middle, just doing his job and asked to speak with his supervisor. I forget his name but I think it was Jeff?

He said a defect is something that happens with all of the sets. I said I had a different definition of what a defect is. I asked about TSBs and he said there were none. Then when I started spitting out stuff sounding like I'm a calibrator or a tech. he asked if I was a tech. I was trying not to laugh. I finally got him to fess up. I mentioned the vertical stripe issue and he said the problem is not found on all sets. He also said there was more than one way to fix it. I was surprised by that and wasn't expecting it. I then mentioned the DMD issue and he was familiar with another DMD issue. He said there is reflection on the mirrors from the ambient lighting in the room. I think that was briefly mentioned here way way back but doesn't seem to be an issue for people these days. He said a fix for the DMD involved an adjustment?

I was trying to get a straight answer but there seems to be different small issues and they each have more than one way to fix it. I guess overall I was satisfied that the guy leveled with me and I feel I can go through all of that again if I have to. I should've gotten his extension or something so I know who I spoke with next time I need to call.

Well I just got off the phone. My rep. put me on hold twice and said "there were no defects for any of the DLPs". I explained how I knew that was not true and did not appreciate it. He put me on hold to give me a number to call. When he returned he said he had no number since there were no defects. I then explained how I knew he was stuck in the middle, just doing his job and asked to speak with his supervisor. I forget his name but I think it was Jeff?

He said a defect is something that happens with all of the sets. I said I had a different definition of what a defect is. I asked about TSBs and he said there were none. Then when I started spitting out stuff sounding like I'm a calibrator or a tech. he asked if I was a tech. I was trying not to laugh. I finally got him to fess up. I mentioned the vertical stripe issue and he said the problem is not found on all sets. He also said there was more than one way to fix it. I was surprised by that and wasn't expecting it. I then mentioned the DMD issue and he was familiar with another DMD issue. He said there is reflection on the mirrors from the ambient lighting in the room. I think that was briefly mentioned here way way back but doesn't seem to be an issue for people these days. He said a fix for the DMD involved an adjustment?

I was trying to get a straight answer but there seems to be different small issues and they each have more than one way to fix it. I guess overall I was satisfied that the guy leveled with me and I feel I can go through all of that again if I have to. I should've gotten his extension or something so I know who I spoke with next time I need to call.


Based on your phone impressions, would you begin the service ticket on this issue now, or wait a little longer?

Also, do most people that desire service on the Sammys, just call Sammy hotline direct to get started?

VegasJay

I have a SFA 8300HD DVR connected to my 6168 via HDMI. If the DVR is set to output Dolby Digital the DVR will not send the audio to the TV but it will send the Dolby Digital signal through its optical out. If I set the DVR to output PCM the stereo signal will pass through the HDMI connection to the TV.
Your DVRs are likely not sending the audio signal because the TV is telling the DVR (via HDMI) that it is only capable of stereo. Since most TVs are only capable of stereo, I would be surprised if your DVRs don’t have a setting that will allow this.

Thanks for providing this information, vandu. You are 100% correct in that our Samsung TVs do not handle a Dolby Digital bitstream but can accommodate PCM stereo via HDMI. As soon as I turned off the Dolby Digital bitstream and turned on PCM audio output, the speakers in my TV came to life.

Vegas, You have to call 800samsung to start a warranty service call. I would ask about RSE coverage in your area, I think that means regional engineer but I'm not sure. If that doesn't work for you then I would give them serveral zipcodes of your nearest bigger cities and get all the repair shops contact info. Unfortunately everytime you call they will ask name phone email zip and all that. i must have called 100s of times with all my problems and everytime they would still ask for the same repeated info. I got repeated emails thanking me for registering my product over and over. Hopefully you wont have any issues with a repair your repair.

HDTV-Nut, It sounds like your set is affected by this same problem and believe me those differences in light levels are there,you can't see them as well during bright scenes but they ARE there. I was watching Pirates of the Car. and could see those lighter colored hashmarks during the movie. I noticed them more when you have a movie that doesn't fill the screen but is still widescreen, like 2.35:1 ratio. As far as I'm concerned it is a problem with thier design and they (Samsung) need to make it right.

bcvp,
I think Samsung CS was talking about ambient light reflections and not the issue we are talking about. I think they are referring to ambient light from another source going through the screen and bouncing off the mirror(the big reflective mirror) onto the screen making a spot of light. The manual even refers to that I believe. I don't think these guys know about the DMD issue and if you said DMD I doubt the guy on the other end of the phone had a clue about what that actually meant. I think this stuff is being handled at the engineering end of this and you or I don't have access to speak to that dept. The VP of Samsung CS is dealing directly with my repairman/tech and he said he was told that there is an official bulletin for the repair shops about the hashmark issue.

I'll post when and if they can actually fix mine to my satisfaction.

Johnnyzcar, I think you're right that they got the reflection issue wrong.

Yeah, I basically gave up since I can't determine if this is exclusive to Samsung or all manufacturers that use the same DLP chip? Someone give me the heads up that it is only found with Samsung and I will do it again. I have time right now, not that much but enough to make a few phone calls here and there. I don't take no for an answer so they will have a hard time dealing with me once I have the facts and the info. I already mentioned if they had heard about a pending class action. lol. That'll shake them up. lol.

If they were just upfront and honest about the whole thing about these issues it wouldn't be a big deal but the guy knew that I knew he knew and so he came clean finally. [That is the issue I have with them. My set and my friend's works great so I told them upfront that I was only interested in getting info on these issues and that my unit was working fine. That's why I couldn't really continue. If I my set had these issues I would have stayed on the line until I got the response I wanted.]

So what exactly do you mean when you say he admitted finally that there were problems? What exactly did he say? It sounds a little vague to me. You say you don’t have any problems with your set and I don’t think I would tell them that info, you’ll never get a straight answer. What model do you have? Have you looked at it on a dark scene with the lights down? I’m curious why you don’t have the issue and others do.
So far I think I have seen
• 6768
• 6168
• 5678
• 5078
Anyone else feel free to add to the list of these 1080P sets that have the hashmark reflections problem.

So what exactly do you mean when you say he admitted finally that there were problems? What exactly did he say? It sounds a little vague to me. You say you don’t have any problems with your set and I don’t think I would tell them that info, you’ll never get a straight answer. What model do you have? Have you looked at it on a dark scene with the lights down? I’m curious why you don’t have the issue and others do.
So far I think I have seen
• 6768
• 6168
• 5678
• 5078
Anyone else feel free to add to the list of these 1080P sets that have the hashmark reflections problem.

johnny,

Put me down for the 5668w. I am going to get up close tonite and see if I can see more than just the vertical stripes. I will see if any hashmarks are noticeable up close as mentioned. I am calling Sammy tomorrow to start the process, any advice on my best approach to describe this issue, so hopefully the TSB gets referenced right away. I looked back at you older posts, and figure I will mention hashmark, along with DMD reflections as a starting point for buzz words.

[QUOTE=johnnyzcar]I have a pic from the service manual of the LE assy.
Good luck on the phone with Samsung, that CS is severely detatched from the corporate system. I only had luck with eamil from the corporate VP's.


Any e-mail addresses you'd loke to share?

I've been following this thread for awhile and for the past couple weeks have heard nothing but complaints from a small handful of people.

Is there anyone out there that is happy with their XXX8W? I'm hoping the old adage is true...that you only hear from people are are unhappy.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a 6768 and want to know if folks are truly satisfied with their purchase.

I have it on my 6178W also. It can only be noticed when I turn my STB off and leave the TV on in a pitch black room. I dont notice it at all when watching TV or movies though. Even in very dark movies it cannot be seen.


Well Im just watching "Lost" now and Im calling Samsung as soon as its over. WOW were the different shades of black noticable! Right in the beginning it was horrible. Now Im looking for it all the time. I think I'll have to call Greg L. and postpone my calibration. 1800Samsung here I come. Ill post what they tell me ASAP.

Johnnyzcar, like I said, the supervisor I spoke with was familiar with at least some of these issues. I don't know how qualified he was or if he was aware of all of them? I think these DLP issues are new. I have a 5678 and my friend has a 5078 and we don't think we have the DLP issue.

I got the feeling from Samsung in general that if I needed my set fixed, which it was recently, that they would fix it as long as it was something that is a known issue and something that they can fix. Once we get to the point where a replacement part doesn't work or that there is a design flaw, or that the issue is with the DLP chip and not with Samsung, then it will be a problem. I don't think we should jump the gun. What first needs to be determined is whether the DLP issues are with Samsung or TI? As long as Samsung puts up this front that I just experienced today that there are no problems with these sets and no one gets a straight answer from TI then we'll just go in circles.

I'm not an expert with other DLP sets so someone who is would need to find out if the Mits, Sony, Tosh and anyone else with the same exact DLP chip has these issues? I don't think it would take long to find out if someone was familiar with the other makes and models.

My thought is if the issue is with the DLP then that is easy to replace and TI would need to reimburse Samsung and everyone else for the costs. That would be something TI is probably not going to volunteer doing. My other thought is if the next gen. Samsung will use the same DLP without the cover? That would be interesting to see. If they have the cover then we'll have a big problem, but it will show that they have corrected a known issue, which would also help us. I would like to see what they fix on Johnnyzcar's set first and go from there.

Well Im just watching "Lost" now and Im calling Samsung as soon as its over. WOW were the different shades of black noticable! Right in the beginning it was horrible. Now Im looking for it all the time. I think I'll have to call Greg L. and postpone my calibration. 1800Samsung here I come. Ill post what they tell me ASAP.

Yeh, I have been watching old episodes of 24 during lots of night scenes, and its very noticeable. I will also be calling Sammy tomorrow, so we can compare experiences.

If anyone wants email addys PM me and I'll hand em out. I don't know if they want me giving them out but I have and will continue to give them out to people who have problems with these sets.

My thoughts on this whole issue is that we paid for properly working Samsung TV's, not TI DLP TV's. Samsung must make this right for us and hopefully they will. I will shut up and go home if they offer me a refund and if they don't fix it and not offer a refund then I will have a problem with that.

bcvp, have you tried to see the hasmark or black level differences on a dark scene in low light with your set?

I've been following this thread for awhile and for the past couple weeks have heard nothing but complaints from a small handful of people.

Is there anyone out there that is happy with their XXX8W? I'm hoping the old adage is true...that you only hear from people are are unhappy.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a 6768 and want to know if folks are truly satisfied with their purchase.

I am very happy with my 6168. But to get it to the point of the current Excellent picture, Eliab had to work his magic on the set. AFter the calibration, tweaks, and
Velux/Foamcore-board installation the picture is superb.

I produce and edit video at my home office. I bought the 5078 so that I can use it as a HDTV video and computer monitor, sort of like a two for one deal. I think it is great, when it works and I think I have an eye for video issues in general, but I think you guys are more in tuned with these sets than me. I don't consider myself a videophile like most of you guys probably do. I have learned a lot here and I would like to get to the bottom of these issues like everyone else.

I think since we are the guinea pigs with Samsung's first gen. of these 1080 sets that we are being forced to report the issues. I don't mind since I think that is the tradeoff of being first. Afaik Samsung has fixed every issue people have had here. The only ones they haven't yet addressed are related to the DLP and I think Johnnyzcar will be the first one here to have the issue looked at. Am I right about this? In other words, any standard issue has been fixed but now that we narrowed down the latest issues to the DLP chip itself I think its getting tough to determine who is responsible. I agree that we bought a Samsung set though and ultimately they are responsible, but if it is a TI issue then we will see other consumers from other manufacturers getting involved too. This reminds me of defective car parts. The car companies use the same parts so if there is an issue in one like the airbag you'll see it in another company.

Bottom line for me is I had the vertical stripe and it was fixed in a day. I haven't had a problem before or after that and my friend's set is fine. I don't think most people here have had any issues. Most have had effects but not issues. Right now the vertical stripe seems to be a popular issue with the DLP next in line. I tried to get a straight answer but apparently the vertical stripe and the DLP reflections are caused by more than one thing and have more than one way to fix them. So far replacing the LE seems to work since no one with a replacement LE has had new issues. Samsung said these issues are limited and that not everyone has them so it can't be a design flaw. Either its the components they used or the assembly, or both I guess. Most people have had great service with Samsung so I would be surprised if they give us the runaround much longer, especially with the new models are only a few months away.

A Samsung DigitAll Service tech came out as scheduled. Within five minutes, he diagnosed the problem with my HL-R5688W. (See my 2/26/06 post for a description and pictures of the problem.)

The tech said that the HDMI adaptor was not working properly but he was going to replace the entire “digital board” just in case. (I was thinking to myself, how could that be the problem when the problem occurs regardless of the source?) In any case, I had to leave the house before he finished so I couldn’t ask him.

According to the receipt, he replaced the following part: ASSY ENGINE P-DLP;56L7 (L780). Part number: BP96-01036B. It sells for $1,477.99 on Samsung's part website. Is this the infamous LE?

The problem I was experiencing is now gone. However, I now seem to have another problem. When the set is on but no signal is coming through, like when the TV is on but the cable box is off, you can see many small faintly lighted “areas” scattered all over the screen. Most of them are in the top and bottom thirds of the screen. These lighted areas are about 1½” long, 1 inch high and have rounded ends. Many overlap. Their color resembles bones on an xray. They are visible regardless of the video source and are mostly noticible when viewing a SD station where the black bars are on the left and right of the screen. I can’t seem to notice them in the area where the picture is. I just know they weren’t there before the Samsung tech replaced that part. Does anyone think this warrants another call to 1-800-SAMSUNG?

On a minor note, Samsung has shorted me one month on my warranty. I will definitely be calling them about this. Speaking of warranties, I think I had better get the extended warranty since like bcvp said, we are pretty much the guinea pigs for these new Samsung 1080p sets.

I take that back. I just started watching Letterman and if you look closely, you can see the lighted areas on his black suit jacket. I will definitely be calling Samsung about this. Any ideas what this might be?

Hello, newbie here.. I just got the R6168 and love it even though im sure the picture could use some fine tuning. I was wondering where i could find information on getting a professional calibration done on the set. I live in NYC.
Any links, info would be appreciated.. Thanks, Darth

Hello, newbie here.. I just got the R6168 and love it even though im sure the picture could use some fine tuning. I was wondering where i could find information on getting a professional calibration done on the set. I live in NYC.
Any links, info would be appreciated.. Thanks, Darth


If you live in NYC you should be fairly close to Eliab Alvarez de la Campa . He is based in New Jersey. Check him out at www.avical.com and give him an email from his website with questions.

If you live in NYC you should be fairly close to Eliab Alvarez de la Campa . He is based in New Jersey. Check him out at www.avical.com and give him an email from his website with questions.

Eliab has calibrated both my Sammy DLPs (an HLN507W and an HLR5668W) here in Manhattan. I recommend him enthusiastically.

The problems you described sound very similar to what happened to my set. After my repair in which the less than average hometown TV shop hauled my set to their dirty TV store. They replaced the digital board and DMD board. I think Samsung techs like to replace the LE because it’s an easier fix and less chance of screwing it up. After receiving my set back it now has many bell shaped lighter reflections on the screen and it also has the hashmark pattern issue. The spots show up during regular viewing.
What you are seeing are reflections from something along the light path and that is NOT supposed to be there. You should call them ASAP and get it fixed PROPERLY as what you describe is not normal.

By the way the member Flipperin NJ had the hashmark issue and drove to several TV resellers and looked at all the Samsung 1080P sets and they had the hashmark issue. I think he finally exchanged his for another brand but I’m not sure. My point being that many of the 1080p TV’s exhibit this problem and the owners don’t realize it yet.


According to the receipt, he replaced the following part: ASSY ENGINE P-DLP;56L7 (L780). Part number: BP96-01036B. It sells for $1,477.99 on Samsung's part website. Is this the infamous LE?

The problem I was experiencing is now gone. However, I now seem to have another problem. When the set is on but no signal is coming through, like when the TV is on but the cable box is off, you can see many small faintly lighted “areas” scattered all over the screen. Most of them are in the top and bottom thirds of the screen. These lighted areas are about 1½” long, 1 inch high and have rounded ends. Many overlap. Their color resembles bones on an xray. They are visible regardless of the video source and are mostly noticible when viewing a SD station where the black bars are on the left and right of the screen. I can’t seem to notice them in the area where the picture is. I just know they weren’t there before the Samsung tech replaced that part. Does anyone think this warrants another call to 1-800-SAMSUNG?

On a minor note, Samsung has shorted me one month on my warranty. I will definitely be calling them about this. Speaking of warranties, I think I had better get the extended warranty since like bcvp said, we are pretty much the guinea pigs for these new Samsung 1080p sets.

I've been following this thread for awhile and for the past couple weeks have heard nothing but complaints from a small handful of people.

Is there anyone out there that is happy with their XXX8W? I'm hoping the old adage is true...that you only hear from people are are unhappy.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a 6768 and want to know if folks are truly satisfied with their purchase.

I am another very happy owner of a 6168. I have not had my set professionally calibrated but will likely have it done at some point in the future. The TV was one of the first shipped and based on the serial number it was one of the first 100 built. It gets far more usage than the average TV (12+ hrs / day). I have no uniformity problems with a dark screen and I've looked very hard for it in a darkened room. I believe this problem is likely confined to a few very vocal owners. Don’t get me wrong, if I had the problem I would likely be very vocal as well. At this point we have no way of knowing the percentage of TVs experiencing the problem but it’s definitely not on every set. Since I have over 2500 hours on the bulb, I question the likelihood of it being time related as was suggested in a previous post.

So far replacing the LE seems to work since no one with a replacement LE has had new issues.

I had my LE replaced and the vertical stripe is worse than the original LE. My first 5078 had poor screen uniformity and the left hand stripe was visible with content on the screen and I had the hashmark issue. The whole set was replaced. The second set had poor screen uniformity but it wasn't too bad and the hashmarks were visible on this set as well. They replaced the LE and screen uniformity is comparable to my first set. I bought through Tweeter and they've been extremely helpful. My repair is still outstanding and they're committed to making this right.

Is there anyone out there that is happy with their XXX8W? I'm hoping the old adage is true...that you only hear from people are are unhappy.

Yes, that adage is true. People will come here and post that "XYZ is broken!" before they will post "ABC works great!"

If everything's working fine and the customer's happy, they'll post it once and go away (or stick around and offer advice). If things are going wrong, they'll come back often to detail the experience ... and generally we're all better informed because of it! :)

I've been following this thread for awhile and for the past couple weeks have heard nothing but complaints from a small handful of people.

Is there anyone out there that is happy with their XXX8W? I'm hoping the old adage is true...that you only hear from people are are unhappy.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a 6768 and want to know if folks are truly satisfied with their purchase.

I have a 6178 and have been VERY happy with it. Mine was manufactured in July 05 and I had it calibrated by Eliab from avical a month after i purchased it. I also had velux panels installed inside the set which greatly improved the blacks and got rid of the light leaks I would see at the bottom of the screen. I'm a pretty critical viewer and I've been totally happy with my set so far.

My other thought is if the next gen. Samsung will use the same DLP without the cover?

The new sets are using colored LED's instead of a light bulb and color wheel. Don't know if this will still be an issue with the new design.

Is there anyone out there that is happy with their XXX8W? I'm hoping the old adage is true...that you only hear from people are are unhappy.

I'm very happy with my 6168! I was in the first shipment from TVA and have loved it ever since.

I'm very happy with my 6168! I was in the first shipment from TVA and have loved it ever since.
Thanks to all for the positive feedback...pulling the trigger next week for the 6768 and praying hard for a good one. I've learned more than I probably care to know but will better off for it as I now know what to look for.

Another question - I've seen several photos in this thread where the TV is fully enclosed in a cabinet (including a back panel). Would it be wise to put some kind of cooling fan in the back of the cabinet in a situation like that? I have no idea how hot one of these bad boys gets.

Thanks in advance.

Good Lord, are people so flush with free time that they are losing their minds??

Threats of class actions? Based on what cause of action? Please post any written guarantee or warranty from Samsung Electronics which specifies the level of PQ you are assured. I'm talking legally enforceable, not subjective opinions of a few individuals.

Be thankful that Samsung customer service is as good as it is. Use that to your advantage and appeal for assistance if you think you have an issue. Do not demand anything until and unless you have an obvious and serious problem.

IME, Samsung service is outstanding. I would never approach them with a "fix it or else" attitude unless they were clearly violating warranty provisions, which I have no reason to think that they would.

Good Lord, are people so flush with free time that they are losing their minds??
agreed. this thread is getting stupid. all the sudden everyone hates there sammy. lol. my 6178 PQ is absolutly beautiful, best tv i have ever owned by far.

Like anything else it needs air circulation. Either have a gap or cut out the back panel where the vents are. You can't have the set pushed all the way back since you have the input cables in the way. I would leave a little extra beyond that and have a way for the air in the back to get out and fresh air to get in. A fan isn't needed. A fan needs the same circulation or it won't do anything but spin. lol

I think the concern is always if some have problems that have happened down the road, a few months after their purchase, that it could happen to them. Not everyone has the extended warranty and some use their set all day so the time varies a lot.

The only issue seems to be with the DLP chip itself and why it is different than other similar DLP chips? I don't have the details but I think people are pinning these new issues on this difference. Like I said, I don't have any issues, but I would be interested to know what is going on.

I wanted to add that some have had an issue when watching the set without a picture. I don't think I would complain about that as long as the issue isn't there when there is a signal. I'd only be concerned if there is a problem with the set the way Samsung intended it to be used. I don't get a good picture when I leave the lens cap on either. lol This new DLP issues could happen to any of us at some point and I think that is the concern since TI makes the DLP and Samsung just installs it. I think it is a good idea to get a better understanding of the source, cause and fix for it and go from there.

I have just spoken to Samsung regarding the issue of the different shades of black. White washed out black about 6" on the left, middle of the screen is pitch black and the right side about 20" also washed out. They had no problem setting me up with a service call from an authorized center. They simply provided me with a transaction number and the service centers phone number. I called the center and spoke directly with them regarding my problem. The service center told me they dont travel that far(25miles). Any center that wont travel that far probably has no idea what their doing anyway. I simply called Samsung back. They transferred me to Regional Engineer. The regional engineer told me he will call and arrange service for my TV with an authorized center. He said he will have an appointment for me within 5 days. As soon as he schedules me he will call to let me know. As soon as they come I'll let everyone know what the course of action is.

As far as bashing Samsung that is not what I am doing. I have a problem with my set I am simply posting my problem and providing some useful info if others have the same problem. I previously and still have my HLN model which is actually a replacement provided by Samsung because the one I had bought had those little white pesky cirlces on the screen. Their customer service was excellent in dealing with me and provided the new set within 1 month of the first service call.

agreed. this thread is getting stupid. all the sudden everyone hates there sammy. lol. my 6178 PQ is absolutly beautiful, best tv i have ever owned by far.

Good to know that you think this thread(which has help me immensely) is stupid. Through my postings of my issue, I have not only learned what my problem probably is, bu tI have been informed enough to talk on a more technical level with Sammy and fully explain my issue and hopefully get it resolved.

I have been scheduled for my first round of service and I really hope it all goes well. My early impressions of Sammy service have been good and my local service center seems well prepared to try and fix my issue. Of course, my calibration is out the window, but I hope my TV is in great working condition when its finally done.

I myself, never once mentioned any lawsuits. I am just hoping to get and share good enough info so that myself and others can have what you call a beautiful tv. I sure hope yours provides years of enjoyment, that is all I am looking for too.

Vegas please keep me posted with the results from your service call. I'll do the same for you. Thanks

Vegas please keep me posted with the results from your service call. I'll do the same for you. Thanks

No prob. I am not super optimistic, since it sounds like this first round of service is going to replace the DMD, which I am not sure will do much, but at least the ball is rolling, and should get resolved eventually. I am scheduled for Tuesday next week.

I've been following this thread for awhile and for the past couple weeks have heard nothing but complaints from a small handful of people.

Is there anyone out there that is happy with their XXX8W? I'm hoping the old adage is true...that you only hear from people are are unhappy.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a 6768 and want to know if folks are truly satisfied with their purchase.

GADGTMAN,

I AM VERY HAPPY WITH MY TWO SETS. I HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH THEM AT ALL. I BOUGHT THEM IN JULY 2005 AND ALL WORK GREAT!!! I EVEN HAD THE 6178W CALIBRATED AND THE PQ ON THAT ONE IS EVEN MUCH BETTER THAN MY OTHER 5688W. I HAVE NO STRIPES, VERTICAL LINES, ETC ON MY TWO SETS.

I AM A HAPPY MAN :) :) :) :)

I've got a question regarding audio sync issues...

I've noticed, every so often, that the words are not matching up with the lips on the screen. I'm always watching through my HDMI port and the audio is going from the cable box through a digital coax to my surround sound. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

I am another very happy owner of a 6168. I have not had my set professionally calibrated but will likely have it done at some point in the future. The TV was one of the first shipped and based on the serial number it was one of the first 100 built. It gets far more usage than the average TV (12+ hrs / day). I have no uniformity problems with a dark screen and I've looked very hard for it in a darkened room. I believe this problem is likely confined to a few very vocal owners. Don’t get me wrong, if I had the problem I would likely be very vocal as well. At this point we have no way of knowing the percentage of TVs experiencing the problem but it’s definitely not on every set. Since I have over 2500 hours on the bulb, I question the likelihood of it being time related as was suggested in a previous post.

What Month did you buy your set in? Do you know the firmware version?

Good to know that you think this thread(which has help me immensely) is stupid. Through my postings of my issue, I have not only learned what my problem probably is, bu tI have been informed enough to talk on a more technical level with Sammy and fully explain my issue and hopefully get it resolved.

I have been scheduled for my first round of service and I really hope it all goes well. My early impressions of Sammy service have been good and my local service center seems well prepared to try and fix my issue. Of course, my calibration is out the window, but I hope my TV is in great working condition when its finally done.

I myself, never once mentioned any lawsuits. I am just hoping to get and share good enough info so that myself and others can have what you call a beautiful tv. I sure hope yours provides years of enjoyment, that is all I am looking for too.
What I think is stupid is when every person jumps on the bandwagon and starts complaining about there sets. This thread has helped me a great deal also.

My set has the lighter shade bar on the left when the TV is on and the STB is off. I have known about this for months. Its not a problem for me though. It is not visable when any content is playing on the set. I have tested it a great deal on pitch black scene's of movies and shows and so on. Your guys problem may be that the problem area is brighter then mine and can be scene on dark scene of movies. If that is the case then yes, you have a right to complain about it.

What I see though is every person reading this thread and saying "mine has this problem too" and getting all worked about it. Then others read this thread and get the idea that the Samsung DLP's are problem sets. This is not the case.

agreed. this thread is getting stupid. all the sudden everyone hates there sammy. lol. my 6178 PQ is absolutly beautiful, best tv i have ever owned by far.

I AGREE WITH YOU AND ALL OF US THAT HAVE GOOD SETS. ONE THING THAT I KNOW IS THAT SAMSUNG AND SONY MAKES THE VERY BEST TV'S THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN. SAMSUNG ESPECAILLY WITH THE DLP SERIES.

MY SETS ARE AWESOME AND I HAVE NEVER HAD PROBLEMS WITH THEM AT ALL.

I DO HAVE ADMIT, THAT THEY LOOK BETTER CALIBRATED AND WHEN YOU INSTALL THE VELUX MATERIAL. TOO BAD SAMSUNG MADE THE INNER CASING GREY, THIS WAS A BIG NO NO!!!! THIS IS WHERE THE LIGHT PROBLEM LIES WITH MOST.

What I think is stupid is when every person jumps on the bandwagon and starts complaining about there sets. This thread has helped me a great deal also.

My set has the lighter shade bar on the left when the TV is on and the STB is off. I have known about this for months. Its not a problem for me though. It is not visable when any content is playing on the set. I have tested it a great deal on pitch black scene's of movies and shows and so on. Your guys problem may be that the problem area is brighter then mine and can be scene on dark scene of movies. If that is the case then yes, you have a right to complain about it.

What I see though is every person reading this thread and saying "mine has this problem too" and getting all worked about it. Then others read this thread and get the idea that the Samsung DLP's are problem sets. This is not the case.

WOW, I was gone for 5 days from reading these posts and man oh man, what is really going on here. Does anyone really know what is the cause of these problems? LE? DMD? Etc? Who really knows. I am here to learn and this forum has really educated me on these sets.. Thanks to all who have helped me out!!! :) :D

The only issue seems to be with the DLP chip itself and why it is different than other similar DLP chips? I don't have the details but I think people are pinning these new issues on this difference. Like I said, I don't have any issues, but I would be interested to know what is going on.

What "other similar DLP chips"? TI owns the DLP market. You want a DLP chip, you call them. End of story.


I wanted to add that some have had an issue when watching the set without a picture.

I find it semi-amazing that people will sit and watch a TV set without an input signal just to look for something to worry over. I'm not quite sure how one would describe that PQ/service issue to a service technician, but let us know if you come up with one.

Let me just say that my problem started in late Nov. 2005 when my brand new 6768 died. After that it was not easy to get a straight answer from Sammy about who would repair my set. The first guy they tried to send me does service calls on a motorcycle and takes the peices away in a backpack to his shop, he also tried to make me pay upfront and collect from Samsung myself. The next shop took my set away untethered in a van and kept it for a month and when they returned it to me it had lighter colored spots that you CAN see all the time when the set is on with a picture on. It took writing certified letters to the VPs of 3 depts. to get satisfactory answers. I do not call this good CS. I was then put in touch with a regional engineer who actually comes to my area for service and thats when I got some real knowledgeable answers.

My TV is still NOT repaired, I am waiting for this retrofit lens or whatever it is that they say will fix the reflections that I have. My warranty is fading everyday and the life expectantcy of the LE is what? You might be surprised when your set decides to self destruct and your warranty is up that new LE is at least 1800.00 for the part.
All I'm saying is this has been a very poor CS expeience for me.


By the way this issue is not something dreamed up, as others have had the same problem. Here's a couple of quotes from my other thread.
The DLP chip reference has to do with a plastic shroud that was on every other DMD TI chip and for some reason is NOT on the TI 1080P chip and the reflections of the solder traces are finding their way through the LE and on to the screen along with other reflections. You CAN see it during movies on dark scenes.


Well Im on my 3rd HLR-5078 because of the "hashmark" issue and all 3 of them had it. The Samsung service people came out and replaced the light engine, digital board, and another board, and the problem was still there.

Samsung plans on replacing this one because the repair reps filled out a form saying they were unable to fix the issue.

I think this model TV has some type of design flaw.


Just an update on my "hashmark" issue. To recap, I received my first HL-R6768 in Sept and reported the hashmark issue (as well as parts of the screen being lighter than others). I started with Samsung initially and to make a long story short, between Samsung, Magnolia, and CVE who came out to work on my tv, I made at least 30 phone calls. All of the people I spoke to were very friendly but none ever followed up on anything. They never called back when they said they would so I had to keep following up every step of the way.

CVE replaced everything in the first TV twice but did not resolve the issues. 3 1/2 months later, I finally received a new HL-R6768 and it had the exact same issues. Magnolia contacted their Samsung rep and were going to schedule a Samsung engineer to come look at my TV. Of course no one ever followed up with me, so a few weeks later, I went back to Magnolia, again, and while I was waiting for one of the managers, saw the hashmark issue on their TV and was able to point it out to them. At that point, they got serious and called their Samsung rep to come look at their TV. A week later after having to stop in again because of no follow up, Magnolia told me that Samsung wasn't even going to come out to look at the TV. Interesting.

For my own curiosity, I went to another Magnolia in a different state (live on NJ/NY border) and their 6768 had the hashmark issue as well. J-Czar's hashmark issue seems to be more prevalent because he was able to get a picture of it. The ones I've experienced, while I'm sure are always present, are more visible when the screen is dark and I'm unable to capture it on film. In any case, none of the sales reps at the stores had ever noticed the hashmark issue until I pointed it out to them and I think many people who have the 6768 don't realize they have an issue either.

It's too much of a coincidence to me that the hashmark issue exists on all four TV's I've seen as well as having the "guts" being replaced twice on one of the TV's and the issue still being present with brand new parts coming out of sealed packages.

IMHO, Samsung has a problem with the 6768, realizes it, and is not providing any information on what they're doing about it, and that assumes they're even working on a resolution to the existing 6768. The new model year is approaching and they may just bite their tongue until new models are out and the 6768 eventually goes away.

As for me, I'm done with the 6768 (especially since I've never seen one without the hashmark issue) and have decided to go with another manufacturer.


I wouldn't wish it on anyone and I hope my issues are resolved soon.

Bobm, why do I find myself going in circles with you all the time? lol. It isn't end of story. The "other" DLPs are what have been recently discussed here several times. TI makes all of the DLPs but there are different models being made. The link above shows about six or so I think? All of them except for ours has a cover on them for some reason. I guess you could ask TI what is the purpose of the cover? If they can explain that then it will be interesting to see why it is not needed on these DLPs, that are used in our sets and others afaik. Like was mentioned again several times, if they just replace the DLP like you suggest, you will have the same issue unless it is determined that the DLP is not causing the issue, in which case you wouldn't need a replacement. This hasn't been determined yet and that's why there has been this concern lately. It isn't simply amazing, people are just trying to learn about their large investment and check things out.

Well I went back to the TI link above. There are seven DLPs listed, not six. My bad. lol. There is an animated demo explaining how the DLP works. The lamp projects on the color wheel. The light from the color wheel reflects off the DLP to the lens. I've seen pics before but the animation gave me a different perspective. Earlier I was thinking that the DLP issue was caused by a gap or space that might be out of spec. Now I'm thinking that the DLP might not be lined up with either the lamp on one end or the lens on the other. In other words there is no reason for the light to hit the outside of the DLP. I think the light is focused that much that it should be dead center on only the mirrors. Any bleeding light should be able to be adjusted.

The cover on the other DLPs remind me of the black edging found on new cars that help cover up the fact that the plastic trim on the inside of the car might not be installed dead center. The edging covers up the gaps or alignment of the plastic trim against the glass so it appears to be straight, centered and lined up. The cover on the other DLPs could be similar so that if the light bleeds off of center it won't be reflected, since the cover is black.

Ok here's an illustration of the way this light reflection is happening.
The excess light is bouncing off the exposed area from the near outside edge of the DMD mirror. The result is a hashmark pattern on the screen. This difference in light is barely noticeable in brightly lit scenes but more noticeable in darker ones.
I might be wrong but this is basically what's happening.

The middle pic is the working shrouded DMD chip, the way is should be working.

Johnnyzcar, is it possible to get a wider shot of the whole screen with the reflections? I'd be curious to see where the reflections including the new ones will line up with the DLP? Now my latest idea is the chip is tilted and not flush. lol. Maybe a wide shot and then close ups like you have so we can compare the pics to the location on the DLP? The more pics the better.

Add me to the list... GeoMetro, bcvp, ARM07470, Strummer, did I miss anyone?

~5 month old HLR-5078W now (suddenly) displaying the left-side vertical shadow, top to bottom of the screen, maybe 1" at the widest. All inputs including tuner.

So my best bet is to contact Samsung and get my LE swapped?

Bummer, I just had Steve Martin (aka Cheezmo) do an awesome calibration on it about a month ago. I guess that it lost.

Bummer.

That sucks. If we knew what the cause was I think we could demand that only those parts affected get replaced, which could prevent the calibration from getting lost? That is too much money to waste over a defective part. I think some calibrators have offered a good deal if you needed another calibration?

Are these good enough.
I don't know what that 1" shadow might be caused from, don't know if it's the DMD chip.
You mean the DMD chip right?



Johnnyzcar, is it possible to get a wider shot of the whole screen with the reflections? I'd be curious to see where the reflections including the new ones will line up with the DLP? Now my latest idea is the chip is tilted and not flush. lol. Maybe a wide shot and then close ups like you have so we can compare the pics to the location on the DLP? The more pics the better.

Johnnyzcar, yes, that's what I mean but I still think it is the way the DLP or something is mounted. What I notice is that the reflection starts at the top left and goes across the screen. The bottom right is not shown. That tells me something isn't straight and that has been my point the whole time. Maybe if it were straight there wouldn't be any reflections at all since I think the beam of light is very tight and not everyone has this issue. just thinking some more that the image is projected at what 400%? The DMD is less than an inch and the screen is what 50" or so across? That shows how small the amount of light is and how precise the assembly has to be, which was why I said something might be out of spec. I wonder if the alignment in the SM will show anything?

[Anything past the DMD is just sending the reflected light to the screen. I don't know how many lens' there are but the issue is either where the light hits the DMD or before, not after. The DMD is a component of the DLP, so I don't think the issue is with the DMD but either the mounting of the DLP or something before it.]

Does anyone have the original factory settings for sub brightness in the SM?
I believe that mine were 255, but in some inputs, where I know that I haven't changed are set at 242. My HDMI is set at 260, which is the factory setting. Where I lost the original setting is with component. I believe that it was either 242 or 255. I have a HL-R5078W.
I had the settings written down, but I can't find the paper.
Is there any way to restore all factory settings? Is each TV set differently at the factory?
Any help would be great. THANKS!!

The hashmark isn't reflecting off the mirror in the back of the chassis. It is coming out of the lens and going right to the screen. That's what makes me think it's diffraction from the lens. I'm not saying that the uncovered leads on the chip aren't contributing to the problem but if they can figure the problem out at the lens, it would be a less invasive repair.

Another question. When I'm in the SM, I've noticed the heading at the top; Mode, Res.
On my HL-R5078W, I use a Motorola 3412, set to 1080i for the component/HDMI output.
But in my TV SM, the RES reads 480p for HDMI & 1080i for Component.
How do I change the HDMI setting to 1080i?
Don't I need to edit each input in the SM when I switch off some DNIe settings?
Also, I asked about default factory Sub Brightness settings for each input. Are they different?
I accidentally threw out my original Sub Brightness settings.

Another question. When I'm in the SM, I've noticed the heading at the top; Mode, Res.
On my HL-R5078W, I use a Motorola 3412, set to 1080i for the component/HDMI output.
But in my TV SM, the RES reads 480p for HDMI & 1080i for Component.
How do I change the HDMI setting to 1080i?
Don't I need to edit each input in the SM when I switch off some DNIe settings?
Also, I asked about default factory Sub Brightness settings for each input. Are they different?
I accidentally threw out my original Sub Brightness settings.

I'm willing to bet that the Motorola isn't sending 1080i through the HDMI. I use both HDMI inputs on my 5078 and TV correctly reports what they are receiving when the SM is up as you describe. Focus on the Motorola and make sure it doesn't have a separate menu or control for HDMI. There's nothing in the SM to change for this. I'll check my sub brightness when I get home and report back if no one else does.

I'm willing to bet that the Motorola isn't sending 1080i through the HDMI. I use both HDMI inputs on my 5078 and TV correctly reports what they are receiving when the SM is up as you describe. Focus on the Motorola and make sure it doesn't have a separate menu or control for HDMI. There's nothing in the SM to change for this. I'll check my sub brightness when I get home and report back if no one else does.

Thanks. The PQ with HDMI is incredible, I believe that it's 1080i.
If I had changed the channel while switching betweew inputs in the SM, would this account for the 480p in the HDMI SM? I don't think it's the STB, because I have no 480p output on it. It's set to 480i / 1080i.

I'm willing to bet that the Motorola isn't sending 1080i through the HDMI. I use both HDMI inputs on my 5078 and TV correctly reports what they are receiving when the SM is up as you describe. Focus on the Motorola and make sure it doesn't have a separate menu or control for HDMI. There's nothing in the SM to change for this. I'll check my sub brightness when I get home and report back if no one else does.

That was it. I changed channels between inputs. Now I see that each input & each resolution must be changed. I will see if my sub brightness is different on an input of
720p. I have never used it, so the settings should be factory original. I'll compare to yours as soon as you post them.

Will_Morr, I disagree. The source of the problem is not at the lens, its where the light hits the DMD on the DLP. The hashmark is already projected evenly on the screen so it is reflected off the chassis mirror like the rest of the image. Therefore all the parts of the LE, after the DLP like the lens are working fine. I think you might be thinking of light leaking from the lens or a diffraction like you said but that would be another issue not related to the DLP. You wouldn't see what looks like the edge around the DMD, you would see light that wasn't in straight, even lines. Any of these parts are easy to repair after looking at the diagrams. I'd rather replace a DLP than the lens, although the tolerance is the same. I'm just guessing the assembly of the DLP is easier to change out than the lens?

Will_Morr, I disagree. The source of the problem is not at the lens, its where the light hits the DMD on the DLP. The hashmark is already projected evenly on the screen so it is reflected off the chassis mirror like the rest of the image. Therefore all the parts of the LE, after the DLP like the lens are working fine. I think you might be thinking of light leaking from the lens or a diffraction like you said but that would be another issue not related to the DLP. You wouldn't see what looks like the edge around the DMD, you would see light that wasn't in straight, even lines. Any of these parts are easy to repair after looking at the diagrams. I'd rather replace a DLP than the lens, although the tolerance is the same. I'm just guessing the assembly of the DLP is easier to change out than the lens?

When diagnosing this problem with the repair technician, we held paper close to the lens and up by the mirror in order to see where the pattern came from. When holding the paper up at the mirror, we obviously blocked the image but the hashmark pattern remained. When holding the paper close to the lens and moving in towards the light, the pattern appeared on the paper, was no longer on the screen and none of the image was blocked. The pattern is not in the main light path. Also, if it was direct reflection of light coming from the chip leads, it wouldn’t be in middle of the screen, it would only be on the edges.

Just my 2 cents here but the images on my screen look exactly like the outline of the DMD chip and circuit traces leading to the chip. I can see it on the botom and the top and sides of the screen at different angles. I dont see how the lens could be causing that pattern. Honestly I think there is a big problem with that plastic shroud missing. As soon as I hear back form my repair tech i will post. He is supposed to come to my house with the "new" lens and LE and repair it on site. I tol him if it fixes it without jeapordizing picture quality then I'll be happy. If not then I'll be asking for a refund. If the plastic shroud should be there then I don't know why they can't implement it in the newer 1080P chips and retrofit the TV's with them.

Will could you go into a bit more detail on the defraction thing? How is that making a pattern like that?

Will_Morr, I don't see how a lens could cause this? Please explain so we have a better understanding. Maybe if it was scratched but I think that is unlikely. If the hashmark isn't in the main light path then you would be able to see where it was originating from. I think the test you performed makes sense but I don't think you can determine anything from it?

The reflection is not from the DMD, which is moving very fast. You can't see the pixels either. Something is not aligned either up and down, in or out, or left and right. Take your pick. If they change the LE then it just means the new LE is aligned and still doesn't tell us the source of the problem. If the lens was not aligned or there was a problem with the lens then I don't think you'd get a good image, which was why I suggest checking the picture alignment in the SM. If the lens was leaking light or something I think you would see other picture issues and not this since these are straight lines. I agree you would think they would be at the edge of the screen but not if the light is at an angle, which I think is causing the problem.

Also the edge is not as reflective as the mirrors so the reflection is not as bright as the picture. You only see it on dark scenes and you said you didn't see it with the paper.

Also, I asked about default factory Sub Brightness settings for each input. Are they different?
I accidentally threw out my original Sub Brightness settings.

The service manual reports 235 but my set is set at 255 (at least for HDMI 1).

Will could you go into a bit more detail on the defraction thing? How is that making a pattern like that?

I can't say how it's making a pattern like that but it is definitely stray light right at the lens. Here's how you can check for yourself:

First, open the access panel on the side of the chassis. If you're right handed, open the one on the right, Left handed . . .

Take an 8.5 x 11 piece of white paper and fold it into quarters, lengthwise. Being careful not to touch the lens or the mirror, stick the paper into the light path. When you do this, look at the screen and you'll see the paper and your hand twice. If you move your hand so that the paper is blocking the main light path, you'll see that the screen is dark where the light is blocked. Move your hand so that the main light path is blocked at the top where the hashmark pattern is. You'll notice that the screen is dark but the hashmark pattern remains. This indicates that the pattern is not in the main light path because it would disappear when the chassis mirror is blocked.

Now, standing over the set so that the hashmark pattern in the middle of the screen is visible, move the paper towards the screen. You'll have to bring the paper very close to the screen and just below the pattern in order to make it disappear. When you do this, you'll notice that the pattern at the top of the screen has disappeared as well. In this position, you're blocking the light that is coming directly from the lens.

From this position, move the paper down towards the lens and look through the access port. You'll see the pattern manifested on the paper. As you approach the lens, you'll notice it getting smaller and brighter. You'll also notice that it is coming of the top edge of the rectangular opening around the lens and that there is about 1/8th of an inch between the pattern and the main beam of light. All you need to do is cover this edge with something that stays out of the main light path and the pattern is no longer on the screen.

The pattern is also present on the bottom edge, but blocking the bottom one doesn't do anything because it doesn't go to the screen.

This is what I mean by diffraction. A beam of visible light is hitting something at an angle and is diffracted into a pattern, just like light passing through a prism. The pattern also repeats itself. For those of us living in the north, it is similar to a ring around the moon in winter. The light from the moon is diffracted by water droplets or ice crystals in the atmosphere, forming a "ring". If the light were strong enough and the sky was dark enough, you'd actually see two rings (and three and four).

Like I've said, this should be an easy fix. If I was more adventurous and didn't have screen uniformity issues, I'd fix it myself, get my set calibrated and veluxed, and have a nice day. I want to see if Tweeter still has my original light engine. If they do, I want them to put it back, I'll block the diffraction and be on my way.

BTW, I love this TV. It has a fantastic picture, these problems are minor (at least for me), and I get to do a little troubleshooting. What could be better?

Bill

The service manual reports 235 but my set is set at 255 (at least for HDMI 1).
Where is the Sub Brightness setting in the SM exactlly. I would like to see what mine are set at. Thanks

Where is the Sub Brightness setting in the SM exactlly. I would like to see what mine are set at. Thanks


Its under the DNIe group of settings in the SM.

Will_Morr, that is a great report and I think it is great you were willing to perform these tests. I think we all agree that it is a reflection from a component. I think we all agree that light is hitting something that it shouldn't. I think we all agree that there is light where there shouldn't be.

What I think you are saying is that there is light leaking around the lens, which I had said earlier I thought would be easy to see. Looking at the LE drawings I didn't think it would be possible for there to be light leaking from the LE? I guess that's the difference between a drawing and a LE in front of you. That is ridiculous if that is the case. That would be affecting the picture never mind a hash mark. I would think the cover around the lens is easy to replace. It does have a 16x9 opening for the image. I really didn't think this was possible but it makes sense. Video cameras have the same opening in front of the lens to let light in, I guess I didn't think it could be a big deal when letting light out.

The problem might be finding enough lens covers. They're all on a replacement LE. If more people can look at their lens cover who have the hashmark issue and find light leaking it would help. I'm thinking now that the vertical stripe could be the same thing? The shadow is over the picture, not blocking it. If the light hits the side of the cover then that shadow is projected over the image, like bunnies on the wall with a flashlight. lol

Like I said, I don't have the hashmark issue but I did have the vertical stripe and got another LE. If I had the LE calibrated I would insist on getting a straight answer and getting the right part and not a replacement LE. That was why I had so much interest in this since I was considering the velux and maybe calibration after I get a HD/BR DVD. I don't think its right that people have to pay for another calibration after a LE replacement either. I guess I always look for the what ifs in things and I grabbed the DLP ball and ran with it. The DLP does seem possible but the issue isn't across the board, we weren't getting a straight answer from Samsung or anyone and TI has sold way too many of these DLPs for them to be defective. Therefore I was thinking the issue was at the start of the image where light hits the DMD and not at the end as it exits the lens.

Well, Will got me into serious inspection mode(I have the 8 inch bright vertical stipe on left side, then dark, then last third of screen on right is brighter), so I removed my screen and began to look a bit at what was going on.

I folded up some paper length wise and brought the paper right down in front of the lens. I had a dark screen on my dvd player before I started and I had the normal bright stripe on the left and the brighter right third of the screen as others have. When I lower the white paper almost touching the lens I can clearly see the brighter areas on the paper. So, basically I am blocking any light from getting to the mirror with the paper and I see the bright patterns clear as day on the white paper. Therefore, it must be coming out of the main light path. The patterns are definitely there coming out of the LE. I am still totally new at this stuff, so I hope I am describing the parts correctly here. Do my findings just confirm what we know, or help out further?

Will, if this is something I could fix myself I would love to do it. However, when the paper is right up against the lens almost, I still see the bright patterns. I can't see how covering or blocking anything around the lens would help. The patterns are cleary coming right from the light coming through the lens. Any ideas would be great.

Thanks

Hello all. I have a 6168 and am having a problem similar to some of you. I have a verticle bar about 6-8 inches wide on the left side of the screen that is lighter than the rest of the screen. To the right of the bar the image is very dark for about 20 inches and the rest of the screen is a little brighter. My problem is apparent on all inputs and is noticeable in dark scenes from DVD's or HD / SD. I had a service tech come out last week to fix and he adjusted the black levels lighter in the SM but when watching most shows the image is too bright now. He tried a new screen :rolleyes: also but as you would expect it changed nothing. He did however leave the old one which was Schweet. He came back out yesterday and replaced the LE. The problem is still there and now I have about 6 spots in different areas of the screen. He will be coming back out on Monday to troubleshoot further. Does anyone have any ideas that I can have him try? I still have a few weeks before the TVA return deal is up but other than this I am very happy with the unit. By the way the PQ has been outstanding otherwise it's just that whenever you watch a darker show or movie it becomes distracting. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and I'll follow up with any improvements. Thanks.

Hello all. I have a 6168 and am having a problem similar to some of you. I have a verticle bar about 6-8 inches wide on the left side of the screen that is lighter than the rest of the screen. To the right of the bar the image is very dark for about 20 inches and the rest of the screen is a little brighter. My problem is apparent on all inputs and is noticeable in dark scenes from DVD's or HD / SD. I had a service tech come out last week to fix and he adjusted the black levels lighter in the SM but when watching most shows the image is too bright now. He tried a new screen :rolleyes: also but as you would expect it changed nothing. He did however leave the old one which was Schweet. He came back out yesterday and replaced the LE. The problem is still there and now I have about 6 spots in different areas of the screen. He will be coming back out on Monday to troubleshoot further. Does anyone have any ideas that I can have him try? I still have a few weeks before the TVA return deal is up but other than this I am very happy with the unit. By the way the PQ has been outstanding otherwise it's just that whenever you watch a darker show or movie it becomes distracting. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and I'll follow up with any improvements. Thanks.

Yes you have the same problem as I do. My service guy is coming out for the first fix attempt on Tuesday, and they are changing the DMD board I think. I can let you know if that has any luck.

Add me to the list... GeoMetro, bcvp, ARM07470, Strummer, did I miss anyone?

~5 month old HLR-5078W now (suddenly) displaying the left-side vertical shadow, top to bottom of the screen, maybe 1" at the widest. All inputs including tuner.

So my best bet is to contact Samsung and get my LE swapped?

Bummer, I just had Steve Martin (aka Cheezmo) do an awesome calibration on it about a month ago. I guess that it lost.

Bummer.

I was at Frys last night and the 6768 on display had this problem. I had seen this same set several weeks ago and it was fine then. Did this problem just suddenly appear or did it come that way from the factory?

Its under the DNIe group of settings in the SM.
Ok thanks, my sub brightness is set at 248 under the HDMI1 input.

by the way, i was able to see the dim verticle bar on the left side of the screen while watching Alien VS Preditor last night in the pitch black dark. it was only noticable when there was a very dark scene. once i put on a dim light in the house I could not see the vertical bar anymore. do you guys notice the vertical bar if you have a light on in your house or do you only notice it when your house is pitch black dark?

I had seen this same set several weeks ago and it was fine then.
Im sure it was there, you just didnt notice it until now.

Will,
That sounds like what my repair tech said. He said they have a new lens replacement that they are supposed to retrofit. I understand what your are sayingnow and it makes sense. I'm still curious about that pattern though. So is the area where the light is leaking creating that pattern or is that actually those uncovered traces on the DMD board? I haven't notice the dark shadow thing on the outer edge of my screen.
I do have the hashmark and reflective spots on the screen.

For the guy who has 2 weeks left on his TV from TVA, I would start the return process because if you wait you'll be like me and get stuck with this TV and be forced to live with it after spending your hard earned dollar. It clearly has major issues with reliability and QC and dealing with samsung customer service is like babysitting a rattlesnake.

If you don't beleive me read this thread My other Samsung thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=630815&page=1&pp=30)
Goodluck!

So far I have had nothing but good things to say about the Sammy service as they have been out within a few days of my complaints. My issue is mainly with the tech not having heard of my issue even though there have been many here from my area who have reported it. I will try the paper test on Monday when the screen is removed to verify that the issue is in the light path. My other observation if it helps is that the problem with the spots that a few of you have mentioned only started after a new LE was installed. I'm hoping to get the actual chip assembly replaced on Mon to hopefully fix the issue or at least rule it out. If there are any other things you think I should suggest to the tech let me know and I will. As far as seeing the line in low light, I have seen it albeit not to the same degree. I watch the TV mostly in the dark anyway.

Savagsa, three strikes and you're out. I would send it back. Why bother? Make sure they exchange it. They wanted to pick up my set, and then at some point deliver a new one. I went through three sets from TVA due to damage during shipping. My original was working but had different PQ issues and so it was watchable at least. I don't know what happened to that screen though? lol. I would put that somewhere out of the way. lol. Its a tough decision but once you make the call to TVA I think you will be pleased and not regret later that you hadn't called them.

Halco, the vertical stripes happens months down the road, like at least three afaik. It was probably not there at first. Its hard to determine if the hash mark and other less noticeable issues found under certain lighting conditions or image were there the whole time or if it developed over time?

HDTV-NUT, the vertical stripe doesn't change. You'll see it under any lighting or content. I was thinking that it might be a shadow off the front of the screen since it changed with the lighting? I thought I had a very thin line across the top of the 5678 but I realized it was a shadow off the front bezel. I jumped out of my chair when I saw it. I was starting to freak out. Then I said to myself its a shadow, get over it. lol.

If this issue is not corrected then she'll be booking a return flight. I tried getting pricing on the new models in case a return was needed so that I could just send this one back and get the new one when it is released but TVA didn't have that info yet and the wife probably won't agree to another grand for one anyway if that ends up being the difference. I would just return it but I would have to pay for shipping if I don't buy another from them so if this doesn't pan out I have to go with whatever they carry. You would think that this could be fixed by component changes rather than having to send the whole thing back but so far I am leaning towards the latter.

HDTV-NUT, the vertical stripe doesn't change. You'll see it under any lighting or content. I was thinking that it might be a shadow off the front of the screen since it changed with the lighting? I thought I had a very thin line across the top of the 5678 but I realized it was a shadow off the front bezel. I jumped out of my chair when I saw it. I was starting to freak out. Then I said to myself its a shadow, get over it. lol.

We have to be careful how we describe these issues. There is the small vertical dark stripe that is only an inch or so wide that some have had. That issue I think is visible no matter what. The 8 inch brighter vertical stripe issue(also the right third of my screen is brighter), is something that is much less noticeable depending on the lighting around the TV. I watch most my TV with the lights almost totally out, so I always see the brighter areas on the TV.

Maybe we can catergorize these two big issues, so we don't confuse them. Anyone have some nice buzz names for these two issues. :)

So far I have had nothing but good things to say about the Sammy service as they have been out within a few days of my complaints. My issue is mainly with the tech not having heard of my issue even though there have been many here from my area who have reported it. I will try the paper test on Monday when the screen is removed to verify that the issue is in the light path. My other observation if it helps is that the problem with the spots that a few of you have mentioned only started after a new LE was installed. I'm hoping to get the actual chip assembly replaced on Mon to hopefully fix the issue or at least rule it out. If there are any other things you think I should suggest to the tech let me know and I will. As far as seeing the line in low light, I have seen it albeit not to the same degree. I watch the TV mostly in the dark anyway.

When you lower the white paper towards the lens, make sure its fairly dark and you should be able to see the brighter patterns on the paper as it gets really close to the lens. Give us an update on Monday with what they try. I will for sure post my DMD board replacement status on Tuesday. I know another forum poster(Dinger45) is set to have his worked on this week too for the same issue. Hopefully, with 3 or 4 of us all having service, something will pop out as a fix.

Will, if this is something I could fix myself I would love to do it. However, when the paper is right up against the lens almost, I still see the bright patterns. I can't see how covering or blocking anything around the lens would help. The patterns are cleary coming right from the light coming through the lens. Any ideas would be great.

Thanks

Vegas,

What I've presented only addresses the hashmarks. The light-dark-light screen thing is different. I have that as well and agree with you that that is coming out of the LE in the main light path.



Will,
That sounds like what my repair tech said. He said they have a new lens replacement that they are supposed to retrofit. I understand what your are sayingnow and it makes sense. I'm still curious about that pattern though. So is the area where the light is leaking creating that pattern or is that actually those uncovered traces on the DMD board? I haven't notice the dark shadow thing on the outer edge of my screen.
I do have the hashmark and reflective spots on the screen.

I don't know what the pattern is but I'd be surprised if it was the uncovered chip traces. My guess (and it's only a SWAG) is that it's the curvature of the lens or the plastic edge itself that is causing the diffraction. And, I'm glad you don't have the light-dark-light screen thing. You could use a break!

The light/dark issue sounds really big. I didn't think I had confused the two? I would just get another LE. That sounds much more involved and will take a lot longer to figure out. I think most issues are close to getting addressed but that one could be while. It sounds more to me like when the DMD gets stuck since it sounds like a much larger area of the screen. Also the DMD flips light/dark so that sounds similar too? In other words the only thing controlling light and dark when it should be uniform is the DMD afaik.

Could someone please explain what Gamma & Index delay are for?
I know that Gamma changes how the picture looks, but by what method?
What do you look for when changing Gamma?
Same with Index Delay.

Also, what is more detrimental to bulb life, leaving the TV on when you're away from it for 15-30 minutes, or turning the TV on/off during these short intervals?
Where is the cutoff in terms of time for cycling on/off the TV?

hdtvbostonma, here is some information on Gamma. I'm not sure what it all means, but it is how you translate from what you filmed to what you show on the tv.

Gamma Gamma is the relationship between an original scene as filmed (the video input) and the how the image is produced on a video display. A linear gamma results in the video input looking the same when it’s shown on the video display. Non-linear gamma results in changes to the scene as filmed, so it looks slightly different on the video display.

Gamma Correction Gamma correction accounts for the differences between the video input and the displayed image to create a more-identical reproduction of the original image. A non-linear gamma results in the video input not showing up exactly the same on the video display.

The attachment show how it is implemented in a DLP system.

This is changing the subject, but...

I just watched "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" on HBO-HD (my set is the 6168). The DVD that I have has always shown what appears to be macro blocking of sorts in many of the shaddow scenes plus, to my eyes, alot of rainbow effects.

The HBO showing, in HD, had none of these effects that are dominent on the standard def. DVD.

I'm now wondering if my DVD set-up is partially to blame for these aberations rather than some sort of set limitation(s).

Any suggestions?

How is the DVD player connected to the TV?

Have you adjusted brightness/contrast/color with a test pattern DVD?

Steve,

The Pioneer 525 is connected to an iSCAN HD processor which, in turn, is connected to the 6168. And, yes, the set-up was calibrated several months ago (ISF).

(Also connected to the iSCAN is my Philips laser disc player and Sony Beta recorder).

I'm also wondering if all the cables (video, sound, electric) criss-crossing each other could possibly result in the problems I'm having.

You might try taking the iScan out of the loop and seeing if that makes a difference. An upconverting DVD player may be a better option since it would avoid any analog -> digital conversions.

Steve,

Thanks.

This is changing the subject, but...

I just watched "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" on HBO-HD (my set is the 6168). The DVD that I have has always shown what appears to be macro blocking of sorts in many of the shaddow scenes plus, to my eyes, alot of rainbow effects.

The HBO showing, in HD, had none of these effects that are dominent on the standard def. DVD.

I'm now wondering if my DVD set-up is partially to blame for these aberations rather than some sort of set limitation(s).

Any suggestions?

It kind of depends on the DVD player you have and if it uses the Faroudja chipset. Something for you to try is to set the DVD player to 480i and let the iScan do the deinterlacing and scaling. You should notice a difference in this mode.

It kind of depends on the DVD player you have and if it uses the Faroudja chipset. Something for you to try is to set the DVD player to 480i and let the iScan do the deinterlacing and scaling. You should notice a difference in this mode.

When you set a DVD player to 480p, do you get 480p/60 or 480p/30?
Do you get twice the "information" of 480i, or is it the same as the HLRxxx8w showing 1080i as 1080p?

We have to be careful how we describe these issues. There is the small vertical dark stripe that is only an inch or so wide that some have had. That issue I think is visible no matter what. The 8 inch brighter vertical stripe issue(also the right third of my screen is brighter), is something that is much less noticeable depending on the lighting around the TV. I watch most my TV with the lights almost totally out, so I always see the brighter areas on the TV.

Maybe we can catergorize these two big issues, so we don't confuse them. Anyone have some nice buzz names for these two issues. :)
Ya, I think bcvp is confusing what Im saying with the other issue. I dont have any dark stripe. I have the "slightly brighter" vertical bar on the left side of my screen that is only noticable in the pitch black dark on a very dark scene. If I turn a dim light on in the house I cannot see the verticle bar anymore.

After toiling around for a few days with my new 7178, I am trying to determine the best way to connect my PC. I am using a Nvidia 7800 card to connect.

I get a great picture with 1920x1080 60hz VGA which i believe is 1080p This is fine and dandy but it is analog. I find the picture a touch soft.

I can't seem to get anything over 720p to feed digitally into Mr. Sammy's hdmi port. I have to drop the nvidia card to underscan to get the whole picture onto the screen so I don't even get 720p.

I am assuming there is no way I am going to get a 1080p computer generated dvi out connection into a 78x, am I right about this?

I have tried to feed a 1080i signal through dvi to hdmi which should be possible but the display type shimmers more than elvis in vegas.

Anyone here get a 1080p or 1080i computer generated dvi output to play nice with their samsung 78x?

Ya, I think bcvp is confusing what Im saying with the other issue. I dont have any dark stripe. I have the "slightly brighter" vertical bar on the left side of my screen that is only noticable in the pitch black dark on a very dark scene. If I turn a dim light on in the house I cannot see the verticle bar anymore.


Yeh, I have been double checking myself trying to decipher what some people are reporting about. The bad thing is both issues are a stripe of some sort and both on the left side. So, sometimes I get confused as to what each poster is discussing sometimes. One thing for sure the small dark shadow stripe some have reported is always visible it sounds like, where as the larger bright stripe problem is harder to see depending on the conditions.

When you set a DVD player to 480p, do you get 480p/60 or 480p/30?
Do you get twice the "information" of 480i, or is it the same as the HLRxxx8w showing 1080i as 1080p?

Not sure about the 30 vs. 60. Pretty sure it's 60, though.

It's not twice the information, all a progressive scan DVD player is doing is deinterlacing the 480i DVD. Some players do this very well, others don't. Which player do you have?

After toiling around for a few days with my new 7178, I am trying to determine the best way to connect my PC. I am using a Nvidia 7800 card to connect.

I get a great picture with 1920x1080 60hz VGA which i believe is 1080p This is fine and dandy but it is analog. I find the picture a touch soft.

I can't seem to get anything over 720p to feed digitally into Mr. Sammy's hdmi port. I have to drop the nvidia card to underscan to get the whole picture onto the screen so I don't even get 720p.

I am assuming there is no way I am going to get a 1080p computer generated dvi out connection into a 78x, am I right about this?

I have tried to feed a 1080i signal through dvi to hdmi which should be possible but the display type shimmers more than elvis in vegas.

Anyone here get a 1080p or 1080i computer generated dvi output to play nice with their samsung 78x?

The 68, 78, and 88 1080P series will not accept a 1080P signal on the HDMI input. You need to get one of the new 1080P models coming out this Spring to have that feature. My 6168 looks extremely good at 1080P over the VGA input considering it has to convert it from analog to digital. It is a very sharp picture on mine, but I also had the ring focus performed during my calibration which definitely made the picture much sharper than it was OOTB.

Not sure about the 30 vs. 60. Pretty sure it's 60, though.

It's not twice the information, all a progressive scan DVD player is doing is deinterlacing the 480i DVD. Some players do this very well, others don't. Which player do you have?

I have the sammy 755, the free one for buying this TV,
I'm trying to figure out if you get 30 new fps or 60 new fps.
But since movies are shot in 24fps (?), you still get the same amount of "information",
just displayed differently (because of 3:2 pulldown).
So 480p vs. 480i is just a difference of de-interlacing & display?
Just like this tv taking a 1080i & displaying it as 1080p.
Not like 720p, where you actually get 60 fps?

I have the sammy 755, the free one for buying this TV,


I'm not sure if that has the Faroudja or not. You can troubleshoot the DVD player oer on the DVD player forum. But I would run component cables from the player to the iScan and set the player to interlaced. You should have a stunning picture in this configuration. If the digital output of the Sammy puts out 480i, then hook that up to the iScan instead of component.

I'm not sure if that has the Faroudja or not. You can troubleshoot the DVD player oer on the DVD player forum. But I would run component cables from the player to the iScan and set the player to interlaced. You should have a stunning picture in this configuration. If the digital output of the Sammy puts out 480i, then hook that up to the iScan instead of component.

I believe this up-converts to 1080i & 720p. But I'm not concerned with this DVD player or my old Panasonic 480p. I'm trying to figure out a concept.
A 480p DVD player just de-interlaces 480i, correct? I could just leave it set to 480i & let an external scaler (the Sammy internal scaler) & get the same result.
It doesn't show true (?) 480p, meaning 480p/60 (if there is such a thing). Meaning that it uses the same method as the Samsung 1080p tv's, (taking 1080i & scaling it to 1080p/30) not like 720p, which is 720p/60.

I have mine hooked up to my pc and i am getting a super picture which I think is 1080P. I don't notice any softness and if I go into the service menu and change the gamma to graphics I get an even better picture with no artifacts at all.

After toiling around for a few days with my new 7178, I am trying to determine the best way to connect my PC. I am using a Nvidia 7800 card to connect.

I get a great picture with 1920x1080 60hz VGA which i believe is 1080p This is fine and dandy but it is analog. I find the picture a touch soft.

I can't seem to get anything over 720p to feed digitally into Mr. Sammy's hdmi port. I have to drop the nvidia card to underscan to get the whole picture onto the screen so I don't even get 720p.

I am assuming there is no way I am going to get a 1080p computer generated dvi out connection into a 78x, am I right about this?

I have tried to feed a 1080i signal through dvi to hdmi which should be possible but the display type shimmers more than elvis in vegas.

Anyone here get a 1080p or 1080i computer generated dvi output to play nice with their samsung 78x? Im not sure what you meen but I have mine hooked up on my pc and I get an impressive picture at 1080 resulution and even better picture if I go into the service menu and change the gamma to graphics and then I get a flawless pc picture free from artifacts.

Does the samsung deinterlace a digital 1080i signal to 1080p? Is this the best way to send an analog or digital signal into the set as opposed to 720p

I think every source is "upconverted" to 1080p.

Since the Samsung does upconverting on the fly, is more important to get a DVD player that does 480p well or a player that does 720p or 1080i well.

I think 1080i will be better since there won't be scaling. At this point HD DVD is supposed to be shipping in a month or so. I would just wait and see.

You can only use VGA for a PC connection. True its analog but that isn't as important as the other factors. Analog will be an issue with new video cards on their way. VGA will be on its way out once HDMI is common on PCs. All PC displays are progressive.

Component is analog and some here say its better than HDMI. Watch T2, WMVHD on your PC and you won't care its analog. lol. Its always better not to convert the signal anyway. Digital to analog to digital isn't as good as all analog or certainly all digital. I don't know if people have the PC specs on the next gen. models? Will they have VGA? That will be interesting to know since nothing is available right now for a PC.

Also, in order to play a HD DVD from your PC you'll need a computer or video card that has the new HDCP Intel chip in it. Without that you'll have a PC that is the same as an old one.

Has Sammy said if they will be able and willing to do upgrades I hope via firmware so the HDMI inputs will be able to accept 1080P once HDCP HD DVD and Blu-ray units come out with 1080P? This will also be needed once you start playing any content on your PC that is HDCP since the VGA input will no longer work.

takeoutten,

The 65 inch HP DLP can accept 1080p input through HDMI. One of the few.

If the HDMI chipsets in the HP set are newer generations than the Sammy 78's, then it doesn't look good.

There is always the possibility that 1080p could be enabled over firewire.....

The vast majority of HDTV, EDTVs out there don't have HDMI inputs and will be limited to receive blu ray and hdtv through component video at 540p! Who the heck is going to want to buy next generation DVD players if they can't even get broadcast HDTV quality on their HDTVs.

This could be a major PR nightmare for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray if this is the case.

The 65 inch HP DLP can accept 1080p input through HDMI. One of the few.

If the HDMI chipsets in the HP set are newer generations than the Sammy 78's, then it doesn't look good.

There is always the possibility that 1080p could be enabled over firewire.....

The vast majority of HDTV, EDTVs out there don't have HDMI inputs and will be limited to receive blu ray and hdtv through component video at 540p! Who the heck is going to want to buy next generation DVD players if they can't even get broadcast HDTV quality on their HDTVs.

This could be a major PR nightmare for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray if this is the case.

Do all HDTVs accept 540i? I bet some of them don't. Anyway my guess is within a week of the release of HD-DVD players and media someone will figure a way to hack around any HDCP either via software or hardware. :)

Sorry about the flub. takeoutten I spoke to samsung last week about this and they said that a FW upgrade would not enable these units to accept 1080P. The newer models will have a different HDMI input ( HDMI 2 ? ) and that they had no plans to upgrade the existing sets with them. Oh well.

As long as I can watch the HD DVDs in at least 1080i, I'll be happy.
I'm not sure there is even going to be 1080p movies yet, I can't see them doing that with MPEG-2 compression as it is.
I know MPEG-4 is an option but I'm not sure the early movies will use it.

I was reading on another site that macrovision only works up to 480p, so that an analog stream above that would be basically unprotected, hence the restrictions on the analog output.

With a 1080p native sammy deinterlacing a 1080i hdcp signal that would still be great.

I bet that a lot of the HD movies when they first come out won't be encoded in 1080p anyways.

I was reading on another site that macrovision only works up to 480p, so that an analog stream above that would be basically unprotected, hence the restrictions on the analog output.

With a 1080p native sammy deinterlacing a 1080i hdcp signal that would still be great.

I bet that a lot of the HD movies when they first come out won't be encoded in 1080p anyways.

I heard this too.

I have read that DNIE can be disabled; by disabling it does this make the gaming lag problem go away? I'm interested in the 67" model but would be quite irritated if my Madden has lag. How good is the scaler inside the TV? Does it properly deinterlace a 1080i signal? I realize that it doesn't have 1080p inputs but if it scales it correctly I'm willing to live with that.

Thanks.

I have read that DNIE can be disabled; by disabling it does this make the gaming lag problem go away? I'm interested in the 67" model but would be quite irritated if my Madden has lag. How good is the scaler inside the TV? Does it properly deinterlace a 1080i signal? I realize that it doesn't have 1080p inputs but if it scales it correctly I'm willing to live with that.

Thanks.

I believe that I have disabled DNIE but I still see lag when I play DVDs on my Oppo (which has a builtin 50 ms delay as well). So, I don't believe removing DNIE removes lag.

However, the good news is that folks have reported here that they use the VGA connection to get lag free gaming.

I use the VGA port for playing DVDs and there is NO lag with this connection (where the computer does the upconverting to 1080p and not the TV).

I can't comment on whether the scaler does its job "properly" but the end result is nothing short of amazing from my Comcast HD STB. So, it must be doing something right. :cool:

I believe that I have disabled DNIE but I still see lag when I play DVDs on my Oppo (which has a builtin 50 ms delay as well). So, I don't believe removing DNIE removes lag.

However, the good news is that folks have reported here that they use the VGA connection to get lag free gaming.

I use the VGA port for playing DVDs and there is NO lag with this connection (where the computer does the upconverting to 1080p and not the TV).

I can't comment on whether the scaler does its job "properly" but the end result is nothing short of amazing from my Comcast HD STB. So, it must be doing something right. :cool:

How is the oppo dvd player? Do you have any macro blocking issus? How do you have it connected to the Samsung? (480p, 1080i?)

The OPPO is not the player to test lag issues with. It has it's own audio problems. Besides video delay is only a problem with gaming where you have a reaction to something with a controller. Video lag can be compensated for from a DVD by delaying the audio in a receiver or some audio delay device. For a game you can't delay your reactions using a controller so you need a lag free input.

The OPPO is not the player to test lag issues with. It has it's own audio problems. Besides video delay is only a problem with gaming where you have a reaction to something with a controller. Video lag can be compensated for from a DVD by delaying the audio in a receiver or some audio delay device. For a game you can't delay your reactions using a controller so you need a lag free input.


Wow the Chronicles of Narnia look pretty good in the picture; especially for a movie that isn't released until April 4th :eek:

The OPPO is not the player to test lag issues with. It has it's own audio problems. Besides video delay is only a problem with gaming where you have a reaction to something with a controller. Video lag can be compensated for from a DVD by delaying the audio in a receiver or some audio delay device. For a game you can't delay your reactions using a controller so you need a lag free input.


So is DNIE the cause of the gaming lag? Or is it something else?

How is the oppo dvd player? Do you have any macro blocking issus? How do you have it connected to the Samsung? (480p, 1080i?)

When the DVD is good, the Oppo is amazing - I have it outputting 1080i! I haven't noticed terrible Macroblocking but I am not that good at spotting it unless its glaringly obvious.

However, in my case, when the DVD is a little "used" - like from the local library or even from Blockbuster, the Oppo simply refuses to work properly. So, my poor kids have to wait for me to come back from work to play some of their DVDs on my laptop instead.

I have contacted Oppo about this but haven't had time to take the unit to them to get it fixed - if indeed there is a fix for it.

So is DNIE the cause of the gaming lag? Or is it something else?

Like I said above, I don't believe DNIE is the cause of the delay. It most likely is the scaler that is the culprit.

The OPPO is not the player to test lag issues with. It has it's own audio problems. Besides video delay is only a problem with gaming where you have a reaction to something with a controller. Video lag can be compensated for from a DVD by delaying the audio in a receiver or some audio delay device. For a game you can't delay your reactions using a controller so you need a lag free input.

Yes, video lag can be compensated for - but I am saying that there is no lag when using VGA. Most people seem to corroborate my finding that there is no lag on VGA but there is lag on all other inputs. Do you not agree?

Like I said above, I don't believe DNIE is the cause of the delay. It most likely is the scaler that is the culprit.

Can you disable the scaler on a particular input? Or does it have to be scaled to 1080p?

Just a heads up on the light/dark/light and spotting issue. The service tech came out last night and replaced the " digital board " ( ? ) and put my old LE back in since no change was noticed other than the introduction of spots in different areas of the screen. The spots have remained as well as the L/D/L problem. He seemed to think that I had my brightness settings too low which is why I'm seeing this. He set the sub-brightness level to what he thought was good and it was comical. The " black bars " top and bottom where now grey and around the credits for LOR it was green and splotchy. I countered with the unmodified factory set "movie" setting after he reset the SB and you could still see the problem. He said that he thinks that he can fix the spotting but would I still want to keep the set if the L/D/L issue was still present. I declined to keep this TV if this is supposed to be an acceptable issue with these units. I know that most of you are not seeing the trouble so somewhere in their stock they have one that will perform correctly. Sorry if this and some of the other posts seem to be negative but sadly there is nowhere else to turn but to people that own these sets for advice.

Help, I just had my HD DVR replaced by Comsucks. The guy swears to me that the 3412 I is newer than my 6412 III? He said they are getting rid of the III models and sending them south. Where to the Yankees? lol. He said its smaller and newer. I did notice its smaller but what are the spec differences? I thought the 6412III was the newer, better one but I don't know the difference. The 34132I doesn't have ports on the front like the 6412. Any info would be great.

Help, I just had my HD DVR replaced by Comsucks. The guy swears to me that the 3412 I is newer than my 6412 III? He said they are getting rid of the III models and sending them south. Where to the Yankees? lol. He said its smaller and newer. I did notice its smaller but what are the spec differences? I thought the 6412III was the newer, better one but I don't know the difference. The 34132I doesn't have ports on the front like the 6412. Any info would be great.

www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=604142
This is the link to the thread for the 3412. It has a lot of problems, almost all of which can be avoided by leaving the 3412 "on". It never really shuts off, the on/off just controls the activating of the outputs.
The one big plus of this box is that you get ADS, so the analog channels look much better than with the 6412.

Thanks for the quick response. I didn't look over the link yet but do you think I should keep it or demand the 6412 back?

Thanks for the quick response. I didn't look over the link yet but do you think I should keep it or demand the 6412 back?

I like the 3412 better, mostly because of the MUCH better SD PQ. The digital SD channels also look better. My 6412 had some of the same problems as my 3412, but the 3412 does have more. My 3412 has HDMI, and the 6412 had DVI.

I'd keep the new one. Just look over the thread, and use your TV on/off instead of the 3412's.

I just read 24 pages there. Reminds me of the good old daze here. lol. It does have some problems. I agree if I leave it on it should be ok and if I can't take it much more I should be able to get another replacement. Maybe by then they'll be new HD DVR STBs out there? I'm not a fan of Comsucks, lol but I think they are a good temporary solution. Thanks.

www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=604142
This is the link to the thread for the 3412. It has a lot of problems, almost all of which can be avoided by leaving the 3412 "on". It never really shuts off, the on/off just controls the activating of the outputs.
The one big plus of this box is that you get ADS, so the analog channels look much better than with the 6412.
I'm confused...I thought the 6412 Phase III was the latest and greatest Comcast DVR with HDMI. Is that not the case?

Just a heads up on the light/dark/light and spotting issue. The service tech came out last night and replaced the " digital board " ( ? ) and put my old LE back in since no change was noticed other than the introduction of spots in different areas of the screen. The spots have remained as well as the L/D/L problem. He seemed to think that I had my brightness settings too low which is why I'm seeing this. He set the sub-brightness level to what he thought was good and it was comical. The " black bars " top and bottom where now grey and around the credits for LOR it was green and splotchy. I countered with the unmodified factory set "movie" setting after he reset the SB and you could still see the problem. He said that he thinks that he can fix the spotting but would I still want to keep the set if the L/D/L issue was still present. I declined to keep this TV if this is supposed to be an acceptable issue with these units. I know that most of you are not seeing the trouble so somewhere in their stock they have one that will perform correctly. Sorry if this and some of the other posts seem to be negative but sadly there is nowhere else to turn but to people that own these sets for advice.

Don't feel too bad. I had my first service call today also, and it was also somewhat comical at times. The tech ran through a bunch of service menu tests using his signal generator, trying to see if it was a setting issue causing the L/D/L issue. To his surprise he determined it was in the Light Path. I said Bingo, I already knew that. So, he scrapped the DMD board replacement and wrote me up for a Light Engine replacement. Here is where is got sticky between us. He was able to notice I had the set calibrated, and we right away got into the Sammy warranty issue. He finally subsided about it and then tried to say that if the new LE didnt fix the issue that the calibrator was to blame, since he believes the LE should fix everything. I told him that is odd since the L/D/L issue was there prior to calibration and that I was hoping the calibration would help the issue. He seem to finally settle down, and say that he would do everything possible including call Samsung to try and figure out any other measures of repair beyond the LE replacement. So, since some don't seem to have this issue, I will now cross my fingers that I get a LE that doesn't have this issue, and doesn't cause any other issues as some have seen.

The tech definitely knew his way around the Sammy, but boy some things these guys say, you know they just don't have a clue at times. He questioned my calibration helping at all, and kept telling me how you can always find things wrong with all TVs, etc etc... I don't expect for these guys to know everything about every set, but its the generalizations they make that I question. So, now I wait and hopefully they can get the LE in soon and I will be able to report those results. By the way, he made write that the set was calibrated on the work order, just so he had that info for some reason.

By the way, he made write that the set was calibrated on the work order, just so he had that info for some reason.
I think you made a mistake by doing that. By signing that I think you just gave Samsung the green light to trash your warranty. You should have denied that the set was calibrated and told him this was the way the set came to you. They can now blame you for the problem. I wouldnt be surprised if you get a call saying that you will need to pay for the light engine..

The 65 inch HP DLP can accept 1080p input through HDMI. One of the few.

If the HDMI chipsets in the HP set are newer generations than the Sammy 78's, then it doesn't look good.

There is always the possibility that 1080p could be enabled over firewire.....

The vast majority of HDTV, EDTVs out there don't have HDMI inputs and will be limited to receive blu ray and hdtv through component video at 540p! Who the heck is going to want to buy next generation DVD players if they can't even get broadcast HDTV quality on their HDTVs.

This could be a major PR nightmare for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray if this is the case.

The HP does have newer gen HDMI chipsets. Unfortunately the 2005 model Sammy was a bit before these were widely available.

No go on 1080P over firewire. Not HDCP compliant and not enough bandwidth.

HD DVD will resolve to the highest available resolution. I believe there is also some user control as well. Forgot to ask that during the demo last week. For that demo they were feeding a Toshiba DLP display a 720P signal. Not sure why they chose this over 1080i. Perhaps the Toshiba doesn't handle 1080i well.

You're pointing out one of the major gaffs of the whole blue laser marketing program. It forces potential owners to buy not just players, but higher priced software and new TVs in most cases.

I think you made a mistake by doing that. By signing that I think you just gave Samsung the green light to trash your warranty. You should have denied that the set was calibrated and told him this was the way the set came to you. They can now blame you for the problem. I wouldnt be surprised if you get a call saying that you will need to pay for the light engine..

They can certainly try, but the warranty laws don't work that way. Has to be proven that the calibration caused the problem.

They can certainly try, but the warranty laws don't work that way. Has to be proven that the calibration caused the problem.
Dosent it say that if the Service Menu is accessed that the warranty is void? I may be wrong, thats was just my understanding.

Dosent it say that if the Service Menu is accessed that the warranty is void? I may be wrong, thats was just my understanding.

Well, if anything like that happens, I have options. I would simply refuse the new LE, and then contact the Regional Manager(friend of mine) of the store that I bought it from and probably just trade in for another brand or maybe a bigger Sammy(since I think the 61 would fit even better in the basement). :D

Yes, video lag can be compensated for - but I am saying that there is no lag when using VGA. Most people seem to corroborate my finding that there is no lag on VGA but there is lag on all other inputs. Do you not agree?


Yes. I agree.

Gadgtman, that's what I thought too? Boston just got the 6412 recently. I had trouble getting two of them and now it looks like this one just replaced it. It works so far.

Don't feel too bad. I had my first service call today also, and it was also somewhat comical at times. The tech ran through a bunch of service menu tests using his signal generator, trying to see if it was a setting issue causing the L/D/L issue. To his surprise he determined it was in the Light Path. I said Bingo, I already knew that. So, he scrapped the DMD board replacement and wrote me up for a Light Engine replacement. Here is where is got sticky between us. He was able to notice I had the set calibrated, and we right away got into the Sammy warranty issue. He finally subsided about it and then tried to say that if the new LE didnt fix the issue that the calibrator was to blame, since he believes the LE should fix everything. I told him that is odd since the L/D/L issue was there prior to calibration and that I was hoping the calibration would help the issue. He seem to finally settle down, and say that he would do everything possible including call Samsung to try and figure out any other measures of repair beyond the LE replacement. So, since some don't seem to have this issue, I will now cross my fingers that I get a LE that doesn't have this issue, and doesn't cause any other issues as some have seen.

The tech definitely knew his way around the Sammy, but boy some things these guys say, you know they just don't have a clue at times. He questioned my calibration helping at all, and kept telling me how you can always find things wrong with all TVs, etc etc... I don't expect for these guys to know everything about every set, but its the generalizations they make that I question. So, now I wait and hopefully they can get the LE in soon and I will be able to report those results. By the way, he made write that the set was calibrated on the work order, just so he had that info for some reason.

I am almost POSITIVE you had the EXACT same tech that I had... Over and over he kept telling me how these sets get no better than factory defaults... After he messed up gray scale on my PC input and kept arguing with me that it was the same before the digital board replacement I more or less told him to screw off and I just got my set replaced... Hopefully things go more smoothly for you.

Best regards,

Steve

Vegasjay, I don't think there was much you could do since the tech. found out about the calibration himself. I would play it cool and see if a new LE solves it. If it doesn't, I think you can get another one. I hope someone will get to the bottom of these new issues soon so we'll have some ammo. lol. I got a new LE recently and I might need another. Samsung called me soon after the service call and I answered a survey and I mentioned how I thought I still had issues. I just got a new STB and now it looks like I have the sideways ) across the top. It isn't all the time but I didn't have it all with the original LE.

Does anyone have the section, paragraph or line of the warranty that mentions calibration? That has been the consensus early on this thread that doing it yourself could void the warranty. I wonder what it says about someone who is certified? You can only have a certified or authorized repair so I would assume the same would be true for calibration? If the warranty or manual doesn't mention it then I don't see how that could be enforceable? Same goes for the Velux, but there is no reason for a tech. to remove the screen. I haven't read the manual or bothered to read the fine print. lol.
[A certified calibrator should have info on this. I don't see how they can provide a service that will void a warranty. It doesn't make sense.]

I'm sorry if this has been asked or answered before but have the new 1080p Sammy DLP's been announced that accept 1080p via HDMI? My parents want a new TV and I'm doing the shopping for them. Also, do the current DLP's (HLRxx78) upconvert everything to 1080p, like a 720p signal or a 1080i signal. Is there a way just to display the signal on the TV in its native resolution instead of 1080p?

Thanks

Check the 2006 Samsung thread. The 1080P sets convert everything to 1080P since that is it's native resolution.

I' m having problems connecting my scientific atlantic 3250 to the samsung 7178x through dvi. I called the cable company, the dvi port is enabled. I am able to get 1080i through the component port. I can't get anything to go through either of the hdmi ports, I get a "not supported" message on the screen. I am using a dvi to hdmi cable to connect.

Is there a way to resolve this.

Gadgtman, that's what I thought too? Boston just got the 6412 recently. I had trouble getting two of them and now it looks like this one just replaced it. It works so far.
Where do you live? I'm in Mansfield, MA. Do you still have the 6412?

I am almost POSITIVE you had the EXACT same tech that I had... Over and over he kept telling me how these sets get no better than factory defaults... After he messed up gray scale on my PC input and kept arguing with me that it was the same before the digital board replacement I more or less told him to screw off and I just got my set replaced... Hopefully things go more smoothly for you.

Best regards,

Steve

Steve,

I take it that the replacement set you got doesn't have the light/dark/light screen problem? If not, it sounds like those of us with that problem simply need to try LEs until we get one that's good. I think I'll try another round.

Bill

When referring to the light dark issue. Is that the dark strip running down the left or right side of the screen? I was wondering because I thought I saw a picture posted here. If and when I ever get my LE replaced I want to make sure it’s not plagued with this issue.
Something funny I have noticed about Samsungs customer support. When I signed up for my service issue I gave them my name and email address etc for the warranty registration and you get a confirmation email that you have signed up and they extend your warranty for 3 months for doing so. Well I keep getting these emails that I have successfully signed up and extended my warranty. I have received at least 2 or 3 of these and wonder if that is something intentional or just another screw up on their end. I wouldn’t mind it if they would actually extend or reset my warranty being that my set has been borked ever since it died after the first 2 months

johnnyzcar

In the emails, do they say the new ending date of the warranty extention?

Given the grief you've gone through, extending your warranty 9 months would not be a bad thing.

When referring to the light dark issue. Is that the dark strip running down the left or right side of the screen? I was wondering because I thought I saw a picture posted here. If and when I ever get my LE replaced I want to make sure it’s not plagued with this issue.


The light/dark/light issue to which I'm referring is where the left side of the screen has a strip that is bright, followed by a wider strip that is nice and dark. The right third of the screen is about as bright as the strip going down the left side. Best viewing is when you have a dark screen or just before the lamp turns off on powering down. I watched Harry Potter last night and the left hand strip bled through the picture. I could clearly see the difference in contrast.

Bill

Gadgtman, I'm in Malden. My friend upstairs still has the 6412. I traded mine in. I think the PQ is better? I mentioned it to him about exchanging his and he doesn't want to bother right now. It seems to be the same, just different and maybe a little better. lol. I never heard of model numbers going down? I was upset with the tech. at first since I thought he gave me a 6412 I. I don't see how a 3412 I is better than a 6412 III judging by model numbers alone? The 3412 thread does say its better and is being replaced from the 6412 so I was relieved and I probably owe the tech. an apology. Then I thought I'd wait and see if I have some of the trouble people have reported on that thread first. lol. I hate Comsucks.

Johnnyzcar, I was thinking of the lemon law but I think that only applies to cars? If they fix the set three times for the same thing or the same part, I think a replacement, with a new warranty should apply?

I don't understand why its taking this long? People have service calls in days, I had mine same day. If they replaced every component it wouldn't take a week?